MIAMI — The Tiger Woods saga continues to spin.
One day after The Post reported that Woods will return to golf in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, the Associated Press yesterday quoted two sources who said Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters.
The reality is that Woods’ unpredictable handling of everything in his life since his world began spinning out of control when revelations of his infidelity became public makes it anyone’s guess when he’ll resurface.
But it’s clear he has started the process of trying to repair his sullied image.
Two sources told The Post on Wednesday that Woods had enlisted the help of former presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer to plot a strategy for his return and how he handles himself before the press.
Sources also told The Post that Palmer has confided in a handful of people that Woods intends to play Bay Hill.
The reality is this: Only Woods really knows what his next move will be and he’s not saying anything publicly.
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Phil Mickelson, the game’s biggest name playing at the moment with Woods in exile, kept himself in the WGC CA-Championships yesterday by shooting a 1-under 71 without his best ball striking.
Mickelson, who arrived here Wednesday night after spending some extra time with his wife, Amy, hasn’t practiced or played a lot of late.
Mickelson spent time last week in Houston, where Amy, who’s battling breast cancer, saw her doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Mickelson refused to use his obvious family distractions as an excuse, insisting: “I’m ready to play.”
He called the 71 “a nice, solid start for me.”
“My goal is to improve each round and try to work my way into the tournament this week,” Mickelson said. “I wanted to shoot something solid today that wouldn’t throw me out of the tournament early.”
Mickelson, who hit only three of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, said his putting saved him, calling it “the best putting round I’ve had all year.”
On the advice of his longtime caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, Mickelson had two drivers in the bag, using one of his older Callaway models with which he hits a lower “bullet” type of drive. That helped him in the wind.
Mickelson, too, made a surprise announcement that he planned to play in the Palmer Invitational. He hasn’t played at Bay Hill the last couple of years. He said he opted to do that because he skipped the Accenture Match Play in February to be with his family.
Depending on whether Woods turns up at Bay Hill, where he has won six times, it could make for quite a week with him and Mickelson in the field.