The five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods appears ready to take on the challenge of walking 72 holes at Augusta National just 14 months after sustaining serious injuries to his right leg in a car crash.
That’s what the 15-time Grand Slam champion’s rivals said Monday when Woods he played his first round of public practice. Tiger Woods’ involvement came before his “game time decision” on whether or not to try to return to the Masters this Thursday.
“He looked good walking,” 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples said of Woods after sharing nine holes with the star player.
“The way you looked It is very impressive. (The field) is brutal to walk. Couples said Woods “will never let you know he’s in pain,” and said his game wasn’t affected if he was in pain.
“He (Wodds) was breaking it,” Couples added. “He didn’t miss a lot of shots, he drove very well… this guy is just unreal.”
Australian Cameron Davis, who played the last five holes with Woods in a practice round on Sunday, said the five-time Masters winner was “still a little slow coming up a couple of hills on holes 17 and 18. She is hitting well. He’s hitting far enough to play the holes the way you need to play them. I don’t see any reason why I can’t put rounds together here.”
Woods said he was lucky to survive a car accident in February 2021 in Southern California, in which he nearly lost his right leg.
comeback attempt
fought during the rehabilitation for a chance to play this week, walking confidently on Monday as spectators harangued his comeback bid.
Woods’ opening in Thursday’s first round it would be one of the most surprising injury comebacks in the history of sport. The five-time Masters champion has not officially played since he defended his title at the 2020 Masters.
“He (Woods) is making the shots you need to make,” Davis said. “He was playing well. Everything looked pretty solid. It will be great to see him here if he decides to play on Thursday.”
The four-time major winner, his compatriot Koepka Brooks, in search of his first green jacket, he played last year’s Masters two weeks after knee surgery and struggled to get around the design.
“I am happy that he is looking healthier and able to play golf. We need it, the game needs it, everyone needs it, the fans need it,” Koepka added.
