The Shell Houston Open recently finished a rather uninspiring 2007 edition of the event. Now, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas — which has also had (earlier post problems brewing) over the past several years — is looking as if it will have its weakest field in years, although it still appears to be better than the SHO’s field. Another PGA Tour event entering the Tiger chasm? The Star-Telegram’s Gil LeBreton thinks so:

The message this time, though, seems unmistakable. If the tributes planned for Byron werenít enough to lure Woods back this year, what makes anyone think that heíll come back next April? Or the year after?
Or that Tiger Woods will ever play tournament golf again in Texas?
His first and last appearance at Colonial came in 1997. A disappointing final round left Woods steamed and tied for fourth place, and he has never returned.
He played in the Texas Open, a fall tour event in San Antonio, in 1996 and came in third. He has never returned.
Woods has never played in the Shell Houston Open.
The Nelson, however, was supposed to be Woodsí tournament. The tournament where Fergie, the Duchess of York, once came to see Tiger play. From 1997 to 2004, Woods played in the Nelson Championship seven times, shooting a combined 77 under par.