Tiger Woods Intends To Play In The Masters
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Tiger Woods plans to play in the Masters.
The five time champion at the Augusta National said Tuesday that he will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision. He added he intends to play on Thursday.
"I've worked hard. My team has been unbelievable. I've been lucky to have had great surgeons and great PTs and physios that have worked on me virtually every day, and we've worked hard to get to this point, to get to this opportunity to walk the grounds test it out and see if I can do this," he said.
This will be Woods' first major event since his car crash last year which severely injured his leg.
Woods was asked if he believes he can win this week.
"I do," he said. "I can hit it just fine. I don't have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. It's now, walking is the hard part. This is not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition that my leg is in, it gets a little more difficult. And 72 holes is a long road. It's going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I'm up for."
There had been plenty of signals in recent days that Woods was on the cusp of deciding it was time to play again. He came to Augusta National for a practice round last week, then returned Sunday — saying he'd be "a game-time decision" — and Monday for more. On Tuesday morning, with bad weather in the forecast, he spent plenty of time in the practice areas.
"It's great to be back," Woods said.
He's scheduled to tee off Thursday at 10:34 a.m. with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann. That threesome plays again Friday starting at 1:41 p.m.
Woods played in December at the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat Florida course where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son. Woods was allowed to use a cart in that event, and when those rounds were over he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.
"I can't compete against these guys right now, no," Woods said on Dec. 19. "It's going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete at these guys and be at a high level."
About 3-1/2 months later, Woods apparently feels differently. If he plays, he'll be in the Masters for the 24th time; he's finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.
"I love competing," Woods said. "I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level, I'm going to. And if I feel like I can still win, I'm going to play. But if I feel like I can't, then you won't see me out here."
Thursday's opening round would mark the first time Woods competes against the world's best players since Nov. 15, 2020, which was the final round of that year's pandemic-delayed Masters.
He had his fifth back surgery two months later and was still recovering from that on Feb. 23, 2021 when he crashed his SUV over a median on a suburban coastal road in Los Angeles and down the side of a hill.
Woods' injuries from that crash were so severe that doctors considered right leg amputation, before reassembling the limb by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.
"It's been a tough, tough year ... but here we are," Woods said.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
