Tiger Woods is playing at The Genesis next week. What are the chances he enters The Players?

Will Tiger Woods enter The Players Championship next month?

Woods is in the final year of eligibility for The Players off his 2019 Masters title. He last competed at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass that year, two weeks before he won his fifth Masters and 15th major championship.

On Wednesday he announced that he will play his first 2024 event at The Genesis Invitational, the event he hosts at the Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles. With The Players coming on March 14-17, what could that mean for the possibility that he appears on the First Coast -- given a prior statement that he'd like to play once a month after making his 2024 debut?

What happened the last time Tiger Woods was in The Players?

Woods tied for 30th in the 2019 Players. He's never missed a cut (17 for 17) but has withdrawn twice after injuries in the final round, in 2010 and 2011.

Woods won The Players in 2001 and 2013. He has posted top-10 finishes three other times.

Since he won his second Players, Woods injuries have limited Woods to three starts in nine years at the Stadium course.

The last time he made a public appearance on the First Coast was for his 2022 induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Here are tea leaves to read when trying to figure out Woods' intentions:

Before he competed in The Hero World Challenge in December (finishing tied for 18th among 20 players), Woods said he wanted to play at least once per month, beginning in February.

He's already announced his February start for next week. It's nearly a given, if healthy that he will play in the Masters in April.

His choices in March (in chronological order) would be the Cognizant Classic (the tournament nearest his Jupiter home), the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, The Players and the Valspar Championship, in Palm Harbor.

The first three are the most obvious since Woods has played in Palm Harbor only once, in 2018. He has played the Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic) four times but has won the Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill eight times, playing it every year he was healthy. He also lived in Orlando from the time he turned professional in 1995 to 2011.

So there are Woods' choices for March: play close to home, play an event close to where he used to live and has had resounding success, or perhaps do the PGA Tour a favor by appearing in its marquee event?

When will we know that Tiger Woods has entered The Players?

Eligible professionals have until March 8 at 5 p.m. to enter The Players (or 30 minutes after they finish their second round at Bay Hill if they're in the tournament and playing in the afternoon). Of course, if he opts for Bay Hill, it's highly unlikely he will play two weeks in a row.

Woods historically has announced his schedule on his X site (formerly Twitter) sometimes giving a week or two advance notice. That's how fans knew he entered the 2019 Players.

The best bet for fans who want to know as soon as possible: start following Tiger on X.