One month from Masters Week - Checking in on Tiger, Phil, players with work to do

Golf fans won't get to see Tiger Woods at The Players, the PGA Tour's signature event, but they won't have to wait long to see him back on the course.

Woods is expected to return at the Masters, the first major championship of the season. The start of the tournament at Augusta National Golf Club is about a month away.

Woods, a 15-time major champion, won't be the only former green jacket winner making his return at Augusta. Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner, is also expected to be back. Last year, he missed the tournament for the first time since 1994. Mickelson, who is now competing in the LIV Golf League, skipped the Masters while he was embroiled in controversy from his comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian monarchy's history of human rights violations.

Mickelson's return will be one of the biggest storylines of Masters week, along with Rory McIlroy's chase of a career grand slam and Scottie Scheffler's attempted defense. Here's what else to look for over the next month:

All signs point to Woods being back in Augusta, where last year he made his return to competitive golf after suffering serious injuries in a car wreck in February 2021. Playing for the first time in 509 days, Woods carded a 1-under 71 in the first round and made the cut, which is something Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau didn't do.

Woods' surgically repaired right leg and fused back didn't hold up in cold weather on the weekend last year. The five-time Masters champion posted back-to-back 6-over 78s in the final two rounds, his worst rounds at Augusta National. He finished 47th at 13 over.

Woods, 47, competed in two more major championships last year; he withdrew after 54 holes at the PGA