Tiger Woods has almost confirmed that he will be playing at the Masters, his first head golfer of the year, just over a year after a car accident left him out of a playground.
In February 2021, Woods had to be rescued from his car after being rushed to hospital after a single car accident in Los Angeles, California.
The 15-time Grand Slam champion suffered multiple fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg and required multiple operations following the incident.
Nearly a year later, he admitted that he would not return to the PGA Tour full-time, despite playing a father-son tournament in late 2021, his first.
Before the Masters, however, the five-time winner revealed he would compete, saying at a news conference: “Now I feel like I’m going to play.”
The 46-year-old said he planned to play another nine holes on Wednesday as part of his preparation for the event, but his words said it had little impact on his decision.
Only in the final rehearsal round does Woods appear to lose his 24th Masters due to his 2014, ’16 and ’17 failures.
When asked why he didn’t want to play in a tournament with no chance of winning and if he thought he could win a big 16th, the American said: “I do.”
Tiger Woods believes he can win a sixth Green Jacket this week. #themasters pic.twitter.com/WHjD4BcOcx
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 5, 2022
He will join Luis Ushutzen from South Africa, who came second in the Grand Slam in 2012, and Joaquin Nieman from Chile in the first round on Thursday.
Woods is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first major player, when he won his first green jacket at Augusta in 1997, but is not expected to play before the tournament.
On Monday, he played in a practice match where thousands of fans crowded on the fairway as he stepped away to see how his body reacted to the round.
Considered by many to be the greatest golfer ever, Woods won 14 majors from 1997 to 2008, compared with only a third in 1998, 2003 and 2004 during the calendar year without winning a championship.
After that, though, a series of injuries and poor form prevented him from winning for years, and it looked like he would never win another major.
In 2019, he was desperate to win his 15th major, just three games behind Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18. His last official race was the 2020 Masters, which was postponed until November due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was in an accident a few months later. .
Whether it’s just starting Thursday, making the cut for the weekend or somehow winning Sunday night, Woods’ return this weekend is one of the best in sports.
