Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Tomorrow Tiger Woods will celebrate his 34th birthday.   Or maybe he won’t celebrate it.   In the month since the  single-car accident that wrecked Tiger’s car and his life, no one has seen the world famous golfer.  That’s a remarkable feat, if you really think about it.  We are a media-saturated society.  We have cameras everywhere:  in our cell phones, our laptops, our DSi consoles, even  good old-fashioned point and shoot cameras in our pockets.  There are professionals who have been tracking Tiger, knowing what kind of pay day the first pictures will bring.  There are amateurs, fans and former fans, who are waiting for him to reappear.  There’s Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more, all venues where people can and will report celebrity sightings.  Tiger managed to elude them all.  Until now, according to the New York Daily News reporting on an Entertainment Tonight report (yes, this is Tiger Beat journalism).

The scandal-rocked pro golfer has been spotted in Palm Beach, Fla., with none other than alleged mistress No. 1, Rachel Uchitel, sources told Entertainment Tonight.

The reported sighting comes just weeks after Woods announced on Dec. 11 that he was taking a break from professional golf to “focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person.”

Woods and Uchitel were rumored to be holding hands as they mixed with about 300 guests at a party in a private mansion in Palm Beach.

They were also spotted partying together in the ritzy enclave, at the Everglades Club, on Saturday night, Entertainment Tonight reports.

Some sources went even further, telling ET that the rumored paramours were living together aboard Woods’ yacht, Privacy, which is reportedly docked in Palm Beach.

via Tiger Woods and Rachel Uchitel spotted partying together in Palm Beach – report

Well, that sounds pretty convincing.  But then, x17online reported that a source told them exclusively that Tiger is in an upscale rehab facility in Arizona.

The source tells X17online:

“He has been there for a few days since his handlers forced him to enter the program. They feel that if he blames his cheating on addiction, the public will forgive him.”

Recent reports claim Tiger was spotted in Palm Beach with former (or current?) mistress Rachel Uchitel, but so far no pictures have surfaced nor has anyone gone on the record saying they saw the two together.

Meanwhile, a stint in rehab for Tiger seems like the next logical step. After singer Eric Benet was caught in a much-publicized cheating scandal during his relationship with Halle Berry, he entered rehab for sexual addiction. More recently, Californication star David Duchovny did the same in an effort to redeem his reputation and his marriage with Tea Leoni.

via Tiger Woods in Rehab, says Source

Add to the mix the following “Inside Story on Tiger Woods.”  This account was published a few days ago by Furman Bisher, a former sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Bisher, well-known and well-respected,  retired this past October.  He received “a legitimate message… from a trustworthy journalist” and posted it on his personal blog.

Are Tiger and Rachel together in Palm Beach?

In regards to Tiger’s boat being in Palm Beach this week, along with Rachel; that part is true. However, Tiger is not on the boat, and is not in Palm Beach; and Rachel is not on the boat. Her parents live 6 blocks from where the boat is, but that is it. Tiger has not returned to his house at Isleworth since the day of the accident except for the therapy sessions.

Is Tiger in a sex and/or prescription drug rehab facility in Arizona?  Bisher doesn’t address that specifically, but he does report that Tiger did go to Phoenix, Arizona immediately after the car accident – for plastic surgery.   Here’s his version of what happened on November 27th:

At one point Tiger turned away to look at the TV, and as he turned back, Elin hit him on the right side of the face with the head of a 9 – iron. When she struck Tiger, she put a huge gash in the right side of his face next to his nose (causing his nose to bruise some), and virtually knocking two of his upper teeth out, and breaking the bone on the upper right side. Tiger ran scared as hell out of the house (which is why he had on no shoes) with Elin swinging the golf club throughout the hallway to the garage (i.e. causing the severe damage which has been reported).

It’s a fact that Elin accompanied Tiger to the hospital.  After that, Bisher reports, Tiger headed to Arizona.

The doctors tell Mark there is not much they can do to repair the teeth and the gash, but the doctor knows a cosmetic dentist and plastic surgeon in Phoenix who will make Tiger look as if nothing happened. Tiger tells Mark to get the jet ready and let’s head to Phoenix to get this done. Friday after Tiger is released from the hospital, he does not return home; he and Mark board the plane for Phoenix. If you remember FHP kept showing up at Isleworth to talk to Tiger, and was told by another FL attorney (who Tiger hired for PR reasons) Tiger was not ready to talk. Well now we know why, he was in Phoenix, and did not arrive back in Orlando until either late last Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

It’s worth reading Bisher’s post in its entirety.   But, back to the question at hand:  Will Tiger Woods blow out his birthday candles with Rachel Uchitel in Palm Beach, Florida or in an Arizona rehab facility?

We know Rachel Uchitel is in Palm Beach, Florida because there are a bunch of pictures of her prancing around the beach in her bikini.

Elin Nordegren is reportedly in Sweden with their two children for the holidays (widely reported but not yet confirmed).

And Tiger?  We  know a lot of people are trying to catch Tiger Woods on camera.  We know whoever gets that first picture will score big.   We know his birthday is tomorrow.  Where he’ll celebrate – and with whom –  is anybody’s guess at this point.  Because we also know he has advisers and handlers who have  achieved an incredible feat: they’ve  managed to keep Tiger Woods out of sight for over a month.  In this day and age, that’s the real win.   Happy birthday, Tiger.  You’ve won this match with the media (and the public), at least for now.