Memorial can’t bank on a Tiger Woods comeback

It’s T (for Tiger) minus four days now, which means Tiger Woods knows his time is running out before Friday’s deadline to officially announce whether he’s going to play in next week’s Memorial tournament.

You can be sure that there are more than a few people keeping close tabs on the subject, probably no one more so than Jack Nicklaus, the Memorial’s host.

“Sure, I hope he’s coming to play, but I don’t know for sure,” Nicklaus said in a telephone interview. “But one thing I do know: If he does play, he needs to play this as a tournament to win it, and he shouldn’t use it as a warmup for the U.S. Open.”

Nicklaus said he has spoken to Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, once since Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee April 15 and that Steinberg told him that it was Woods’ intention to play the Memorial.

Last week, Woods told reporters in a conference call he had been able only to chip and putt in his rehabilitation from surgery and that he wouldn’t have been able to compete if forced to play.

Whether that indicates Woods is leaning one way or another is unknown, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Woods decided to wait until the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines to come back. The Open begins June 12.

The Memorial is well known for its weather problems, and starting and stopping play isn’t a recipe for an easy return from injury – and neither is the chance that rounds won’t finish on the day they begin.

Woods, who hasn’t played since he finished second at the Masters, has won the last four PGA Tour events at Torrey Pines and has six victories on that course since 1999.

On the other hand, Woods is famous for making up his own mind and following his instincts, even if they run counter to conventional thinking.

Opening up

The U.S. Golf Assn. announced its qualifying sites for the U.S. Open, and the only sectional site in California is at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City on June 2. The only other site in the West is at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore., also June 2.

Ratings game

Going up against Game 7 of the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers’ Eastern Conference semifinals, Sunday’s overnight ratings for CBS’ coverage of the AT&T Classic dropped 10% from 2007 (when Zach Johnson won in a playoff) – from 2.0 to 1.8.

The overnight rating numbers for Saturday’s CBS telecast were 1.2, the same as 2007.

Front desk

Just to make sure you know who the sponsor of the tournament is this week at Fort Worth – it’s hotelier Crowne Plaza – there is a fake hotel lobby set up near the main entrance of the PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club.

Maybe fans can leave fake wake-up calls and check with the fake bellman for their fake lost luggage.

Playoff Perry

Extra holes haven’t turned out so well for Kenny Perry, who lost to Ryuji Imada on the first playoff hole at the AT&T Classic. It was Perry’s first playoff in nearly 12 years, since he lost to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship. That was the last tournament Brooks has won.

Perry did manage to accomplish something only three others have done since the AT&T Classic moved to the TPC Sugarloaf in 1997. He had four rounds in the 60s. The others who have turned the trick are David Duval in 1999, Davis Love III in 1999 and Phil Mickelson in 2006.

Ryder Cupdate

The top 10 list for the U.S. looks this way: Woods, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Mickelson, Boo Weekley, Anthony Kim, Johnson, Steve Stricker, J.B. Holmes and Justin Leonard.

Europe’s top 10 on its world points list is Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington, Daniel Chopra, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Robert Karlsson.

Ochoa numbers

In case you’re keeping track, Lorena Ochoa’s victory at the Sybase Classic was her seventh in the 24 times she’s started the final round in the lead.

Ochoa, who won $300,000, reached $12 million in career earnings faster than anyone in LPGA history, needing five years, two months and 12 days. Ochoa supplanted Annika Sorenstam, who reached the money mark in nine years, four months and four days.

Charity golf

The eighth Joe Mantegna celebrity tournament to benefit Home Ownership Made Easy will be played June 30 at MountainGate Country Club. Tom Dreesen, Don Cheadle, Dennis Franz, Andy Garcia, Joe Pesci and Gary Sinise are expected to play. The event benefits the nonprofit organization that helps developmentally disabled with affordable housing.

Masters news

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne said the Masters raised about $3.4 million for charity this year. The sum includes $250,000 to build a new Fisher House at Augusta’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center to provide temporary lodging to veterans and their families in a medical emergency.

 thomas.bonk@latimes.com