Tiger Woods will begin his 15th season on the PGA Tour when he returns at the Masters in a few weeks' time.  Having won 71 times on the PGA Tour already, Woods has more than eclipsed a critical threshold that will give him lifetime membership status on Tour.  A player must complete 15 seasons on Tour and have won at least 20 times in order to have this special status.

The last man to achieve that was Davis Love III with his win at Disney World a few years back.  It was his 20th win on the button.

Woods just has to outlast the clock this season.  In order to face no potential sanction from the PGA Tour (like he would anyway), Woods has to play 15 PGA Tour events this year.  He could have the four majors, the Players, the other WGC in Ohio, the four FedExCup events at his regular disposal. That's ten.

Then he needs five more.  I would expect him at Quail Hollow.  He could play his National event in Philly, though he is still not the host of the event this year.  He's got Jack's place.  The HSBC Champions could count.  Then I'm out of ideas.  He needs one more.  Still, he could find a way to 15.

The point, though, is that Woods doesn't have to find that route to 15 anymore after this season.  He can play the exact schedule that he wants.  If he only wants to play 10 times per year, he can.  It's his call after this year.  There is no minimum to qualify for the FedExCup other than points, which he can easily do.  And that's if he even chooses to continue supporting the concept.

In his 15th season on Tour, Jack Nicklaus played in 17 events.  It was no different than his 14th season on Tour, but Jack did pare down his schedule from 20 events in '73.  Tiger has been hovering in that 18 event range since around 2000 - a carefully crafted schedule designed by Woods to ensure he peaks at the right times (for the Majors).  That Tiger Tour has become so consistent that almost any fan of his could recite his schedule on command.  Perhaps, though, that can change provided that Woods no longer needs to play the minimum schedule on Tour.

Depending on how he fares this year on the course with results and with crowds - and the commitment he chooses to make to his family & marriage - it is possible that Woods could become a cameo on Tour instead of the loose fixture he is today.