It’s part of a group of tournaments known collectively as the Florida Swing, but the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (still “Bay Hill” to those not overly concerned with PGA Tour propriety or giving the corporate sponsor a mention) really stands alone. Twenty-nine years after Palmer upgraded the Florida Citrus Open by moving it across town to his new winter home, the tournament is enjoying a stature and prestige not far short of the majors, despite the fact that it changes its name on average once every three-and-a-half years.

Three important factors are at work here: The level of respect golfers and golf fans everywhere have for the tournament host regardless of how young they are, the quality of the golf course to which Palmer has made several sensible changes through the years and, of course, the fact that Tiger Woods shows up every year.

It’s surprising then, given the tournament’s quality, that news from the early part of the week centered on problems the grounds crew has had in controlling disease on the putting surfaces and a couple of big-name withdrawals.

Players were told at Innisbrook last week that the greens at Bay Hill were suffering after an infestation of nematodes, tiny worms that apparently moved in following central Florida’s unusually humid fall and winter. Bruce Martin, a turf specialist from Clemson University, was called in twice, and PGA agronomists have been monitoring the situation for months. As a result, the greens have certainly improved since December, when large discolored circles were evident on a number of surfaces. Though not as bad as East Lake’s during last year’s Tour Championship — officials had to spray the turf with green fertilizer to make it presentable — Bay Hill’s greens will nonetheless not be up to their usual high standards. One or two players have said putting this week could be something of a lottery.

As for the withdrawals, the first to leave was Ernie Els, who will miss the tournament for the first time since 1993. Els had committed to all four Florida Swing events and even found time to play in Seminole Golf Club’s Pro-Member tournament 10 days ago. That he should snub the King after playing a one-day social event and missing the cut at last week’s PODS Championship seems, well, unseemly.

Weariness following a hard-earned victory at PGA National two weeks ago and a desire to be in tip-top shape for the Masters in a month’s time no doubt contributed to Els’s decision. But it seems odd he would play the PODS, tee it up at Doral next week, and sign up for Houston the week before Augusta, all at the expense of Palmer’s tournament. Could it be he took one look at the greens and concluded that the damage to his putting stroke could not be repaired in time for the Masters?

The tournament’s other withdrawal was John Daly, who failed to show up for his 8:40 a.m. tee time at yesterday’s Pro-Am. At press time, Daly’s whereabouts and the reasons for his no-show weren’t clear, but it was likely he would no longer be eligible to play the tournament. One can only speculate if this latest aberration has anything to do with Butch Harmon’s announcement on Tuesday that he would no longer be coaching the notorious hell-raiser as a result of his off-course antics and failure to take their relationship or the game seriously. There is one certainty, however: Daly may be as popular as ever with the fans, but he’s fast running out of resources that can help his game. One wonders where we will see him next.

Balancing the bad news is the fact that Tiger Woods is raring to go and hitting the ball better than ever, an assertion he made after winning the Buick Invitational in January and which subsequent victories in Dubai and at the WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona have done nothing to dispel. As usual, he arrives at a tournament in the midst of a hot streak — looking for his fifth official PGA Tour win and seventh worldwide win in a row. Actually, if he does prevail this week, it will be his 10th victory in his last 11 appearances, and he’ll join Ben Hogan on 64 tour wins.

His form at Bay Hill of late has been disappointing, to say the least. The back nine 43 in last year’s final round stunned everyone who watched it through the gaps in their fingers. But everyone knows, including the competition, how unlikely a repeat of that is and that he’ll be shooting for nothing less than a third straight win to start his season.

The tournament absentees will soon be forgotten once Tiger starts ripping it up. And with all due respect (well, for Els at least) this tournament can survive their absence. This is Arnold Palmer’s event after all and could survive anyone’s absence, even Tiger’s. Well, for a year or two anyway.

tonydear71@comcast.net