“I feel like I’m going to play,” Woods said at his long-awaited Tuesday press conference at Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, where the first Grand Slam of the PGA Tour season kicks off on Thursday.
Woods, 46, plans to play another nine-hole practice round on Wednesday and will make a final determination after seeing how he recovers from that effort.
“It’s a question of how my body is going to recover and what my body is capable of doing the next day,” he explained.
According to the program released this Tuesday by the organization, Woods is scheduled to start the first round on Thursday in group 14 of 31 at 10:34 local time (same time as Paraguay) along with Chilean Joaquín Niemann and South African Louis Oosthuizen.
Tiger could not have chosen a more iconic place for a new feat than Augusta, where he won the first of his 15 Grand Slam titles 25 years ago and was later the scene of other major feats of his career.
Woods said he was lucky to have reached this point, one step away from returning to the Tour, but his ultra-competitive spirit resurfaced when asked if he thinks he has a chance of winning his sixth Masters on Sunday.
“I think so,” he stated. “I have no doubt what I can do golf-wise. Walking is the hard part.”
“You know, 72 holes is a long way, and it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m prepared for,” he stressed.
Just last February, before hosting the Genesis Invitational tournament, the Californian acknowledged that he continued to have difficulties with long runs on foot, but insisted on his goal of one day returning to high competition for specific events.
Augusta’s length and elevations make it one of the most demanding courses on the circuit.
“The only flat spots here are the 18 tees,” said Tiger, who acknowledged that he has not regained full mobility after the accident.
Since his collision on February 23, 2021, where his life was at risk and he suffered multiple fractures in his right leg, Woods only participated in December in the PNC Championship family tournament, where he was paired with his young son Charlie and toured the course in a golf cart.
– Playing with injuries –
The “Tigermania” is declared in Augusta since a week ago Woods appeared by surprise in the field to prove himself physically. Since then numerous colleagues have publicly encouraged the idol to compete and a crowd of fans followed him in his public round on Tuesday.
“Whatever happens it would be just epic,” said 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott.
Woods has already played before dragging injuries. In 2008 he was a US Open champion competing with a stress fracture and torn ligaments in his left knee.
“I’ve been in worse situations and I’ve played and won tournaments,” he recalled. “Now, I haven’t been in situations like this, where I’ve had to walk and endure what I’m going to try to endure, that’s going to be different.”
“But my back surgeries that I’ve had before and the things that I’ve had to play, even going back to the US Open when my leg was a little bit broken, those are all moments that I can take advantage of. Where I was successful, I learned to block things out and focus on what I need to focus on,” she stressed. “That’s definitely going to be the challenge this week.”
– “A difficult road” –
Tiger has chosen for his return a fundamental stage for his legendary career. In Augusta he conquered 25 years ago the first of his 15 Grand Slam trophies (only three less than the Jack Nicklaus record), becoming the first black golfer to wear the green jacket of champion.
In 2019, when few expected it, Tiger recorded another emotional victory, his first in a major tournament in 11 years, after recovering from multiple back surgeries.
This return is even more unexpected, after an accident that not only threatened to put an end to his memorable career, in which he equaled the PGA title record with 82, but also came close to causing the amputation of his right leg.
“It was a tough road,” Woods said Tuesday. “To say then that he was going to be here playing… I would have said that it is highly unlikely.”
Woods suffered the collision in a suburb of Los Angeles (California) when he was driving almost 140 km / h, twice the legal speed. His SUV spun out of control and flipped several times before flipping over.
The Californian, who had to be removed from the vehicle and operated on urgently, spent a month in hospital before beginning a hard and uncertain rehabilitation process.
