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Could Tiger Woods be back in action sooner than most people had anticipated? Whispered rumours from an Australian press, which won’t seem to burn out, is that Woods will return to Tour action on February 17th at the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona. Since admitting his transgressions, Woods has shied himself away from the public, and away from the game he loves. He has gone through a rough time, with sponsors dropping him, leaving his career in a sand trap, forcing him to take a wedge of time away from the game.

One baffling thing about these rumours is that the Match Play event in Arizona is sponsored  by one the sponsors who unceremoniously dropped Woods as the face of their advertising campaign. Maybe his return there though would show that he has been humbled and it really is all about the golf for him upon his return. The WGC Match Play Championships, is a little different from everything else on the tour, in that it is a knock-out event, leading to a final. The top 64 players on the tour automatically qualify for this, and Woods, should he return, will have only missed one tournament that he would normally show up for. The longer he stays away, the more it could hamper his pursuit of the Majors.

But, golf goes on without Mr Woods, as displayed in the USPGA’s Northern Trust Open in California, and the European Tour out in the Dubai Desert Classic at the moment. In Dubai, Lee Westwood made a great charge towards the top of the leader board yesterday, carding a wonderful 65, but it still wasn’t quite enough to touch Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee who hit a 66 in his second round to move one shot ahead of the pack on -8 under. Spain’s Ryder Cup star, Miguel Angel Jiminez is in contention, also on -7 under with Westwood and Wales’ Stephen Dodd. One of the upcoming new young stars on the tour, Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy, shared the lead after the first round, as he looks to defend his Dubai Crown. After two rounds, the 20 year old shares 5th place.

Dubai Desert Classic Outright Odds (Scores after second round in brackets)
Lee Westwood (-7) – 3/1 at Coral
Rory McIlroy (-6) – 9/2 at SkyBet
Thongchai Jaidee (-8) – 10/1 at Totesport
Charl Schwartz (-6) – 10/1 at Victor Chandler
Alvaro Quiros – 11/1 at William Hill

Over in the USPGA Tour, where the Northern Trust Open 2010 is underway, England’s Justin Rose is trying to hard to put himself on the golfing map again, as he shared 4th place after two rounds. Being played at the Riviera Country Club in California, it is Steve Stricker who is leading the way, along with Dustin Johnson, who made a hole-in-one in his second round. The weather on the course has not been great, with persistent and early darkness from heavy storm clouds causing delays in the game. Sticker and Johnson, under the conditions, look hard to catch after posting scores that have left them three shots clear of the nearest opponent. Johnson isn’t back in the clubhouse yet on his second round, thanks to the bad light, he still has two holes to play, so could still take the lead after two rounds.

Northern Trust Open Outright: Scores after second round in brackets:
Steve Stricker (-10)  – 13/8 at Stan James
Dustin Johnson (-10) – 11/4 at Paddy Power
Andreas Romero (-7) – 12/1 at Bet365
Phil Mickelson (-4) – 12/1 at Boylesports
Justin Rose (-6) – 22/1 at Bet365