The Orlando Sentinel reviewed the new information released by the Florida Highway Patrol in its final accident report on Tiger’s November 27 accident, and apparently the investigation was hampered by uncooperative witnesses.

Interestingly enough, when Elin tried to ride in the ambulance, the crew wouldn’t let her, explaining it was a case of domestic violence. But later officials were “confused” because they didn’t find any evidence. Also, Elin gave police two bottles of pain pills she said Tiger had taken earlier in the day.

Along with a nifty animated diagram the Sentinel pieced together, here are some other new bits revealed:

•Troopers began searching for evidence that Woods was drunk or under the influence of drugs the day of the accident.

•Elin Woods told officers she heard her husband’s accident, jumped onto a golf cart and went looking for wreckage.

•Officers calculated the golfer’s speed at 29 to 37 mph.

Curious that Tiger was driving at such a high speed out of his driveway — one might think he was trying to make a getaway.

Most disturbing was the hospital’s behavior when officers tried to procure records the afternoon of the crash, but were told the records department was closed and they’d have to return Monday. When they returned, they were told they needed a warrant, but Assistant State Attorney Steve Foster said there was insufficient evidence.

When did hitting bushes, the curb, a fire hydrant and finally a tree 350 feet from your house at 29-37 mph not meet requirements for suspicion of driving under the influence?

Oh, apparently Mark NeJame, Tiger’s defense attorney, told officers he couldn’t figure out the home video system so he couldn’t provide the surveillance footage. I guess it was too difficult for his feeble legal mind to interpret…or something like that.

While the circumstances around the incident are certainly baffling, this is probably the clearest picture we’ll ever get of whatever really happened that night. So, conspiracy theorists keep giving it your best shot.

After the NY Post reported that Tiger would likely play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, two sources told the Associated Press he would stay out of golf until at least The Masters:

The two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is supposed to release such information, say he is likely to play first at Augusta National in April.

And I had my hopes set so high on the Tavistock Cup! I can almost hear the officials at Augusta cheering with excitement when alerted their sacred grounds will turn into a circus side show.

Since the strange unfolding of events after the car crash on November 27, we’ve wondered why Tiger didn’t recruit a PR-savvy guru to help handle the fallout. Well, now, the NY Post is reporting that he’s (finally) hired Ari Fleischer, former presidential adviser to George W. Bush, to devise a plan for his comeback to golf at the Arnold Palmer Invitational:

“They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks,” one source told The Post.

The other source told The Post, “I would be shocked if he didn’t play the Arnold Palmer.”

Since Tiger announced his indefinite leave, many have pinned Bay Hill as the logical date for his return (prep for The Masters, which no one can imagine he’d miss).

The Post also says Palmer has told “close confidants that Woods is definitely playing Bay Hill.” Meanwhile, longtime buddy and fellow Isleworth resident Mark O’Meara declared to the Golf Channel he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Tiger came back at the Tavistock Cup, the two-day exhibition matches which pits pros from Isleworth against the neighboring Lake Nona club.

Back to the curious decision to hire Fleischer who established Ari Fleischer Sports Communications in 2008. He was brought on by Mark McGwire to help repair the shunned hitter’s image after the steroid scandal in 2005. And that obviously went really well. Among Fleischer’s other clients are the NFL, the MLB and, of course, the oft-mocked BCS.

But more important, does this mean we finally know Tiger’s political affiliation?

Welcome to Balls in the Air, where I size up my Fantasy Golf picks of the week, featuring guys to watch (or not) and interesting story lines. Disclaimer: Don’t yell at me if my picks suck.

First of all, I’d like to take a second to give myself a big-freaking-high-five for posting this before the tournament started. (I know, finally.)

/HI-5!

Okay, I feel so much better about myself after that. Hoo-ray. Because you all care, I’m sure. Moving on to the picks!

Group A

Phil Mickelson: The defending champ needs to step up after a crappy showing on the West Coast swing. You gotta figure he’s found a new putting stroke by now (though not sure what was wrong with the one from the end of last season). It’s time to get hot, Phil — apparently Tiger is coming back soon, so the time is winding down to move closer to that number-one spot.

Group A Bencher

Steve Stricker: Safe pick…for every week. He’s a fantastic alternate to fill in for a potential no-show Phil. Hell, it would probably be smarter to have Phil on the bench. Stricks surpassed him as the number two in the world rankings after he won the Northern Trust Open. He’s placed in the top-10 in three for three starts.

Group B

Camilo Villegas: Uh, heard he’s playing pretty well on the course in between his job as the ambassador of Colombia. Apparently he has a lot of fans out in Miami (se habla Espanol). I’m told when he came second to Tiger in 2006, he overshadowed him (yes, seriously!). But he’s had more rest and not sleeping in his own bed this week, so might be a gamble.

Jim Furyk: My friend Kevin reminded me that Furyk has an excellent record at Doral (T2 in ‘08 and 3 in ‘09). He also advised me to take Furyk over Rory McIlroy, so if Furyk shoots, like, 76 every day, then I’m taking a hit out on him.

Group B Benchers

Rory McIlroy: The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland will be the first to share cover time with Tiger on Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘11. He picked up some tips from Jack Nicklaus at lunch last week because he’s eager to learn. And he’s been playing Doral since he was, like, nine.

Geoff Ogilvy: He hasn’t done anything spectacular since he won the season-opening SBS Championship. (Maybe the new baby is keeping him up?) But he sure loves World Golf Championship events with three wins tucked away.

Group C

Paul Casey: Three top-10s in three starts. When asked what he’d say to Tiger on the first tee, he replied, “Nike 1, blue dot. I don’t know, what do you say?” Exactly.

Group C Bencher

Ian Poulter: He won the WGC Match Play Championship. Enough said.

Well, that’s all. Great field this week. For the record, I wanted to pick Alvaros Quiros to shake things up — the dude is fun to watch and hits the ball so far he almost makes J.B. Holmes look like Tim Clark. But I guess I’m laying up while wearing orange pants.

Even though Tiger Woods isn’t playing in this week’s WGC-CA Championship, he’s still managing to make a presence. On Monday a source close to him told the Golf Channel that Tiger was working with swing coach Hank Haney last weekend at Isleworth, the gated community where Tiger lives. It was also reported it’s the hardest Tiger has worked on his swing since before the unfortunate car “crash’ in November.

Last week Charles Howell III and J.B. Holmes independently stumbled upon him hitting balls and gave shining reviews of his game.

Then on Tuesday, Mark Steinberg, Tiger’s agent, just happened to pop by Doral Golf Resort. (No word yet whether he chatted about the location of the cave where Tiger was hiding during those long winter months.) Steinberg doesn’t have any clients playing in the event either. But who knows, perhaps he just wanted to say hello to some old friends and scout out new clients (surely players are jumping on that thought!).

Meanwhile, Doug Ferguson reported that the PGA Tour has been notifying officials at every tournament between now and The Masters to make preparations for Tiger’s return:

“We’ve not indicated that we have inside knowledge,” [PGA Tour spokesperson Ty] Votaw said. “We just want them to be aware so they’re not scrambling.”

Best be safe! But of those three events, historically, Tiger only plays the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. That said, I’ve heard there are other solutions to preparing for the inevitable circus — I mean, would it really be too much to ask for Tiger to notify the necessary parties with ample time (he’s known to commit to tournaments at, like, 4:59PM the Friday before)? It sure would help save millions of dollars in wasted resources. I don’t know much about the Twelve Steps, but I’m assuming “Consideration” falls under one of them.

EA Sports revealed that 20-year-old Rory McIlroy will share the cover with Tiger on Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘11. The company is rolling out its new version of the game, featuring a Ryder Cup team format because it’s a match year. Apparently the inclusion of McIlroy, who hails from Northern Ireland, is to represent the European side. McIlroy, who has yet to play in a Ryder Cup, has been dubbed Boy That Will Save The PGA Tour, so clearly he was the logical choice.

But some might think the move has something to do with — oh, I don’t know — Tiger’s extracurricular activities. Of course, EA Sports, which has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the troubled golfer, says otherwise via ESPN’s Jon Robinson:

[T]his truly was decided last October before all the events. That’s when we thought about the Ryder Cup and adding somebody else on the cover. It had never been done and we wanted to focus everybody on the team aspect of the game. That’s what we wanted to do regardless of anything else going on.

Mmmhmm. That’s what they all say.

Meanwhile, speaking from the site of this week’s World Golf Championship at Doral, McIlroy makes some generic comments about Tiger’s anticipated return:

It’s certainly going to be interesting to see not just how he plays but just how he handles the whole situation. But yeah, I think everyone is excited to see him just get back out on to the golf course and play golf. And from the reports I’ve heard, he seems to be swinging it well and as good as he ever was. It will be exciting the next few weeks, whenever he comes back, I know a lot of people are saying Tavistock or Bay Hill. It would be nice to see him back.

And it’ll be nicer when those dreaded questions don’t have to be asked or answered anymore.

If you were looking forward to funnymen hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, cracking some Tiger jokes, too bad — there won’t be any. According to the NY Post, a well-placed source said the Academy Award producers deleted the lines because they were “too rude.”

So instead, Martin and Baldwin are making cracks about, you know, the nominees — like how Matt Damon is secretly married to Jennifer Garner and how George Clooney is mad at everyone.

Who does everyone have for Best Picture? I just hope Avatar doesn’t win. Great movie, but overrated. I’ll take Inglorious Basterds or The Hurt Locker.

Ireland’s largest bookmaker, Paddy Power, is determined to sponsor Tiger Woods, who has lost three major endorsers — Accenture, AT&T and most recently, Gatorade — since the whole sex scandal mess broke out.

The company offered the golfer $75 million over five years to presumably parade its logo on some available real estate (like his bag) or plaster his face on billboards promoting online betting. But a Paddy Power spokesperson said the company “remains keen to work with Tiger Woods, and will re-engage with [IMG].”

Um, call me crazy, but endorsing a gambling service doesn’t seem like it’d be the logical move for a guy who is already allegedly recovering from addictions to sex, strippers and Ambien. But clearly, increasing the bid is a way to win him over. Despite the company’s denial, this so-called business proposition sure smells like something called a publicity stunt.

Come on, Paddy Power should know it would have better luck courting this golfer instead.

Meanwhile, for anyone who bet on Tiger returning to golf at next week’s WGC-CA Championship, no luck — the commitment deadline passed on Friday at 5pm EST without Tiger announcing his entry.

Be warned: NSFW. And, please, if you choose to watch it, make sure you have a sense of humor. As a friend pointed out, this animated Tiger Woods sounds like Gilbert Gottfied. So if that’s not your kind of thing, then move along.

Welcome to Balls in the Air, where I size up my Fantasy Golf picks of the week, featuring guys to watch (or not) and interesting story lines. Disclaimer: Don’t yell at me if my picks suck.

I swear I’m going to get better at posting this on a weekly (and more timely) basis, but mostly it’s because I haven’t come up with lyrics for a “Balls in the Air” theme song. Submissions are welcome.

Group A

Anthony Kim: Aside from the third round 76 at the Phoenix Open, Mr. Shiny Belt Buckle had a great tournament. No word whether he was hitting it hard at the Bird’s Nest on Friday night. Oh, and this is good — he’s paired with Robert Allenby the first two rounds. Fight, fight, fight!

Group A Bencher

Ernie Els: The options were slim, so it was either the Big Easy or someone like Steve Marino. Ernie is off to a quick start with two top-10 finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Northern Trust Open. Even though his three-year campaign to challenge Tiger Woods as the world’s number one has expired, maybe it comes with a one-year extension plan.

Group B

Rory McIlroy: Gotta love this kid. More important, he wouldn’t have laid up from 231 yards on a par 5 when he was in contention. At least I hope not.

Camilo Villegas: The flashy Colombian has been playing very well. In two starts, he finished third at the Match Play Championship and T8 at last week’s Phoenix Open, including a 9-under 62 in the first round. After complaining last year about the oh-so-grueling year-long golf schedule, he talked about his overall improvement in attitude and appreciation for the opportunity to play. They grow up so quickly!

Group B Benchers

Y.E. Yang: The defending champ is always a safe pick. He also played well last week despite a mental error, where he dunked it in the water, on the 17th hole last Sunday. But last night on Twitter, he mentioned having back pain. Not a good sign and something went wrong today — he shot (gulp) 79.

J.B. Holmes: I have a soft spot for the slow-moving long hitter after speaking with him last week at the Phoenix Open. Really nice guy. He’s also started the year hot with a runner-up finish at the A&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and third at the Northern Trust Open.

Group C

Paul Casey: In two starts, he finished runner-up at the Match Play Championship after losing to Ian Poulter in the finals, and T10 at the SBS Championship. Another safe pick. (Honestly, I’m ashamed how boring I’m getting.)

Group C Bencher

Rickie Fowler: I’m still kinda appalled with his gutless play coming down the stretch. John Hawkins summed it up very well, “Hey dude, did it ever cross your mind that you could make an eagle? You’re Rickie Freakin’ Fowler, the New Kid in Town, the second coming of Lanny…You believe, Rickie, because that’s what champions do. Better safe than sorry? Sometimes, they mean the same thing.” Lucky for him he’ll have another chance sooner than later — can’t discredit him for being able to play. As he heads into the Florida swing, it’ll be interesting to see how he does when not on familiar territory.

Alright, leaderboard check! The soft-spoken Australian, Nathan Green, leads with an early 5-under. Some guys called Alexandre Rocha and Michael Connell are tied for second along with Oliver Wilson and Villegas. Watching the telecast, looks like tough conditions with the wind blowing hard.

Someone else to keep an eye on is rookie Alex Prugh. He’s placed in the top-ten three times and made five cuts in five starts. After a few off-weeks, he’s in the clubhouse with a 68 and T10.

I realize I sound like a broken record this week with some of my picks — you know, so-and-so is playing well, which was annoying because it seemed like I have nothing more interesting to say. But if you’ve discovered a formula that doesn’t involve looking at the players’ current season results and their past performance at that tournament or simply going with your gut, then please share. Maybe next week I’ll get a little crazy and point my finger at the screen with my eyes closed and see which name it lands on.

At least Villegas is making me look smart.