Plauderecke » And at least one person was happy Tiger didnt sh

The loss of James Tedesco to a broken jaw is likely to be offset by the return of Luke Brooks from a knee complaint for Wests Tigers crucial round 24 NRL clash against Penrith on Friday.The Tigers need to win their remaining three matches against the Panthers, the Warriors and Canberra to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2011.The 10th placed joint venture sits one point behind Gold Coast in eighth place but they have been hit hard by the loss of NSW fullback Tedesco, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season.However the Tigers are set to welcome back Brooks who has missed the last two matches due to a knee injury.Brooks took part in the Tigers captains run at Campbelltown on Friday ahead of the loss to the Titans, but coach Jason Taylor erred on the side of caution in holding back his halfback.The Tigers didnt train on Monday, but Brooks is expected to take part in sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at their Concord Oval base ahead of the Pepper Stadium encounter with the Panthers, who sit on seventh on 26 points, a win more than Wests.Back-rower Kyle Lovett was confident Brooks would be back on board for the final three games of the regular season.He was training last week and he looked pretty good, we will see how he is closer to Friday, he said.It is always a boost getting a player like Luke back in the team he has been really good for us.Jack Littlejohn, who has filled in capably in Brooks absence, will fall out of Jason Taylors side upon the return of his first choice No.7.Jordan Rankin will fill in for Tedesco, with Melbourne signing Josh Addo-Carr expected to be brought in on the wing.Obviously Teddy is a big loss to the team, he has been a great player for us, Lovett said.But we have to get on with it, there are still three games to go and we are still a chance to get into the finals.Rankin is a chance to be there and we have a few other good outside backs who could fill in there. 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Soft openingGolf in general and the PGA Tour in particular has never really been into the idea of celebrating Opening Day. Unlike MLB and the NFL, leagues who circle the date on the calendar, a new golf season isnt really much to rejoice about.Aside from those players who are exempt and missed the FedEx Cup playoffs or maybe bowed out early, and those who just last week earned their PGA Tour cards, the start to the 2016-17 season at this weeks Safeway Open in Napa, California, is more continuation of a long golf year than it is a start of a new one.Just 18 days before the first tee shots are hit at Silverado Resort, Rory McIlroy was hoisting the FedEx Cup trophy following his Tour Championship victory at East Lake. Were still trying to decompress from the highly-charged Ryder Cup -- with Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar the only Ryder Cuppers competing this week in California.And so the PGA Tours fourth version of a wrap-around schedule is set to begin, the first of seven tournaments played during the coming six weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. The official season then resumes at the Tournament of Champions on Jan. 5.2. Of course, Tiger ...Had Tiger Woods played the Safeway Open as originally hoped and planned, the season-opening event would have taken on an entirely different vibe. Woods return to competitive golf after a now 14-months-and-counting hiatus was a story that went well beyond the sleepy opening to a golf season. Based on ticket sales and media interest, the tournament would have rivaled any of the biggest events of the coming season.Understandably, there have been some disappointed people in Napa, many of whom bought tickets with the express intention of coming to see Woods. And many were dismayed to learn there are no refunds.That is standard operating procedure at a PGA Tour event. Tickets are non-refundable, and a good lesson in reading the fine print.As it pertains to Woods hope to participate announcement on Sept. 7, the Safeway Open promoted that on its website and didnt go out of its way to explain that the 14-time major had not officially committed to the tournament. For those who think the tournament is losing out on Woods withdrawal, it managed to sell a good number of tickets based on his hopeful participation.3. When commitment is a bad wordIn order to play in a PGA Tour event, a player must commit to it by the Friday prior to tournament week. The terminology should really be enter because there is nothing at all that commits you to playing. It is a procedural move that is required. To play, you must commit -- but its not binding. Many players will commit to every tournament they think they will play early in the season, so as not to forget to do so. They then withdraw if their schedule changes or if they change their mind.In Woods case, a commitment has been a huge deal to any tournament for the duration of his 20-year career and his reluctance to commit early stems from something that occurred early on.When Woods turned pro in August of 1996, he had no status on the PGA Tour. As a non-member, he was allowed to take up to seven sponsor exemptions, and tournaments lined up to extend them. Before winning in Las Vegas, Woods goal was to earn enough money to finish among the top 125 on the money list, thereby foregoing the qualifying tournament.He had scheduled eight straight weeks of tournaments (he could forego a sponsor exemption if he finished top 10) and played Greater Milwaukee (T-60), Canadian Open (11th), Quad City Classic (T-5) and the B.C. Open (T-3). The next week, he was scheduled to play the Buick Challenge, and was actually on site when he became ill and withdrew, also skipping a dinner where he was to be honored as the college player of the year.Woodds was heavily criticized -- even Arnold Palmer took issue with it at the time, saying he should have played.dddddddddddd. The lesson is you dont make commitments you cant fulfill, unless youre on your deathbed, and I dont believe he was on his deathbed.The following week, Woods won the first of his 79 PGA Tour titles at the Las Vegas Invitational and adopted a longstanding policy of not committing to events early so as not to disappoint in case he changed his mind.But Palmers comments notwithstanding, in order to play that tournament, Woods had to enter -- which is far from the commitment it is made out to be.4. About that Tiger-Phil pairingTheres been a good bit of speculation about Woods being grouped this week with Phil Mickelson at the Safeway Open and how that might have been one of the reasons he decided against playing.Its safe to say that it had nothing to do with it. The PGA Tour several weeks ago made overtures to both parties to see if they would be opposed to the idea. Mickelson had said on Sept. 7 when Woods first announced his intentions to possibly play that hed love to be grouped with Tiger at the Safeway. Woods agent, Mark Steinberg, was also approached.Aside from major championships and World Golf Championship tournaments where they might have been grouped together in the first two rounds, Woods and Mickelson had not played together on the opening days of a PGA Tour event since the 1998 Nissan Open. They have routinely been put on opposite sides of the pairings draw in order to have marquee players in the TV window for Rounds 1 and 2.Although the tour does not necessarily always ask participants if they are okay with a marquee grouping as is often orchestrated, in this case it happened. And Woods could have declined.5. What will Phil do next?For the first time since the start of the wraparound schedule, Phil Mickelson is playing a fall event -- aside from the World Golf Championship tournament in China he has played on several occasions. He announced months ago he would be playing the Safeway Open, which marks the start of his 26th PGA Tour season.Mickelson, 46, has played 548 events to date, with 42 victories, 34 runner-up finishes and 182 top-10s.6. In his own wordsWhen Tiger Woods did officially withdraw from the Safeway Open, he posted his statement at his website and also via his Twitter account.7. And at least one person was happy Tiger didnt showThat would be Max Homa, who got into the field when Woods withdrew. 8. Schedule crunchAn unfortunate -- but avoidable -- situation occurred last week when the PGA Tour had to cancel the Web.com Tour Championship due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew. Canceling the event due to the impending storm was the only option aside from trying to move it, although that likely presented numerous logistical concerns.The fallout, however, was severe for those players who were counting on the event to try to secure their PGA Tour card for the season that begins this week. And therein lies the problem.With the wraparound schedule as it is, determining playing status for the first event of the new season has to be completed. Hence, the Web.com Tour Championship could not be moved to this week.But there was an off week prior -- ostensibly to not go up against the Ryder Cup -- and that proved to be the problem, offering no room for error.9. Confidence boostAustralian Steven Bowditch has been in a slump that saw him miss 15 cuts this year, including his past six in a row. But the two-time PGA Tour winner has had a great sense of humor about it, this time offering a shout out to Tiger Woods for a practice round. ' ' '