Peter Williams: Come back Tiger - golf desperately needs you

It was comforting to hear this week that Tiger Woods will play the US Open. It's been a dull two-and-a-half months with golf's best player on sabbatical.

We know his father's death has been the key reason for him not playing a tournament since the Masters, and how such an absence will impact on his performance at Winged Foot will be among the most fascinating aspects of the year's second major.

Woods has never had this much time away from competition at any stage in his career. Although we'll never be privy to the real impact of Earl Woods' death back on May 3, it does seem strange that a month later Tiger is still not playing in Jack Nicklaus' Memorial tournament this week, nor bothering with the pre-US Open tournament in Westchester, New York, next week.

The contrast between what Woods has done since Augusta and Phil Mickelson's schedule is stark. After the Masters, Tiger knew he had to deal with an ailing father - as well as his caddie's wedding. They were important milestones and golf was understandably put in the background.

Mickelson went back to San Diego as the Masters champion and as the winner of the last two majors. He called a press conference and outlined his programme leading up to the US Open. It entailed two routines of three weeks off and two weeks on. He's stuck to that, playing two tournaments so far since the Masters, as well as the Memorial at the moment and Westchester next week.

It therefore stands to reason that Woods cannot start the US Open as prepared as Mickelson - or can he ?

Two of the greatest years in golfing history were completed by men who played an absolute minimum of competitive golf outside their major championships.

In 1930, Bobby Jones won the Grand Slam of the US and British Open and amateur championships. It is still the greatest sequence of tournament victories ever in a calendar year. Yet outside the four majors of the era, Jones played only two other events in 1930.

In 1953 Ben Hogan set a benchmark only Tiger has subsequently reached by winning the Masters, The US and British Opens. He played just three other events because of a dreadful car accident in 1949. When Hogan came back to golf in 1950, he never played more than six tournaments a year for the rest of his career. Yet he won six major championships after the accident.

So will this 10-week break by Woods see the start of a pattern whereby appearances in regular Tour events will become rarer as he concentrates more on the majors?

I suspect much will depend on the US Open. If he can win, or return a top-three finish on the back of no competitive golf for more than two months, then he may well play a reduced schedule of less than 20 tournaments a year.

That's a real worry. Golf isn't the same when Tiger's not around. His absence has reinforced how much the game needs him.

It might just be better all round if he didn't have a top showing at Winged Foot in a fortnight.