I thought Tiger mentioned last Sunday that he had some Nike commercials to shoot on Monday, then he was planning to play practice round on Tuesday; but the weather interfered with it. It's probably a bit difficult to get much out of the proam on Wednesdfay, so he did not get very good prep for this tournament. All in all, I'm glad he played this year; but I hope he passes on it next year.
Other than the reality check of putting slower greens, like he'll prtobably see at the Open, this tournament makes little sense in preparations for the Open.