Tiger Woods Ready for Masters: 'As of Right Now, I Feel Like I Am Going to Play'
AUGUSTA, Ga. –Tiger Woods made official Tuesday his intent to play in the 2022 Masters and added an extra bonus when asked if he believed he could win:
“I do,’’ he said.
Woods, 46, a five-time winner of the event whose status for the year’s first major championship was in doubt as recently as 10 days ago, practiced for the third straight day at Augusta National and then conducted a 30-minute news conference in which he covered all manner of topics related to his serious injuries from a car crash to his ability to be competitive.
“I can hit it just fine,’’ Woods said. “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 normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition that my leg is in, it gets even more difficult.
“You know, 72 holes is a long road. And it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge I’m up for.’’
Woods is scheduled to play with former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann on Thursday at 10:34 a.m. His tee time for Friday is 1:41 p.m. (Round 1/2 tee times.)
This will be his 24th appearance in the tournament and first since November of 2020 when he tied for 38th in a fan-free event held in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That was his last official event due to a serious car accident on Feb. 23, 2021, near Los Angeles.
Woods suffered multiple injuries to his right left, ankle and foot and required several surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation process. In his rare public comments since, the 15-time major champion has maintained that his recovery was going slower than he wished and that he never expected to be able to play anything resembling a full schedule again.
But Woods made a trip to Augusta National on March 29 and played the course with his son, Charlie, and fellow PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas, completing all 18 holes. Woods disclosed Thursday that he and Charlie also played the Par 3 Course.
“I’ve worked hard,’’ he said. “My team has been unbelievable. I’ve been lucky to have great surgeons and great PTs and physios that have worked on me virtually every day. We worked hard to get to this point, to get this opportunity and walk the grounds, test it out, and see if I can do this.
“It’s been a tough year, and a lot of stuff that I had to deal with that I don’t wish on anyone. But here we are, Masters week. Being able to play and practice – for me, more importantly, just to say thank you to all the guys that have texted me, FaceTimed me, and called and given me all their support, to see them in person and to say thank you has meant a lot.’’
Woods arrived on Sunday and played the back nine, then before a huge crowd of spectators, played the first nine on Monday along with Thomas and Fred Couples, 62, the 1992 Masters champion who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his lone major victory. “It was good to feel the energy again,’’ Woods said. “Everyone loves Freddie. That’s why they call came out.’’
“It was really cool,’’ Thomas said of the enormous crowd that followed. “I think something like that is going to just help him get through the week and being able to feed off that energy, use the adrenaline. It’s definitely going to be helpful.’’
Couples for years has dealt with his own health issues, specifically his back, and has not played a competitive round in 2022. He decided to give the Masters a try and said he was thrilled when Woods called him to set up the practice round.
“This guy … he’s just unreal,’’ Couples said after they played on Monday. “If he can not overdo it – and that’s the problem. But if he just doesn’t get too amped up, which is easier said than done.’’
Woods was dealing with back issues prior to his car crash 14 months ago but is said to be swinging the club nicely. Couples said Woods’ game looked “phenomenal.’’
And while he does not walk with a limp, it is clear that Woods favors his right foot, especially when navigating hills both up and down. That has long been viewed as the issue as he attempts to play competitive golf.
“It’s just a matter of what my body’s able to do the next day and recovery,’’ he said. “That’s the hard part. Yes, we push and try to recover as best we possibly can that night and see how it is the next morning. Then all the activations and going through that whole process again, and you warm it up and then you warm it back down, or test it out and then you’ve got to cool it back down. Then you’ve got to do that day in and day out.
“It gets agonizing and teasing because of simple things that I would normally just go do that would take now a couple hours here and a couple there to prep and then win down. So activity time to do what I want to do, it adds more time on both sides of it.’’
Going forward, Woods said “my movement probably will not get much better. Will it feel better? Yes, I will. I’m going to get stronger, and the whole limb will get stronger. But as far as movement, probably not much more. I’m so limited with the hardware in there, so I won’t get much more.’’
Woods practiced on the range, hitting all manner of shots, chips and putts prior to his news conference. Forecasted poor weather came in the afternoon and Augusta National officials suspended play for the day.
In his answer concerning whether he would compete in the tournament, Woods suggested that he would try to play nine more holes on Wednesday.
“My recovery has been good,’’ he said. “I’ve been very excited about how I’ve recovered each and every day, and that’s been the challenge. That’s why I came up here and tested it out for 27 holes because we played the Par 3 course. Charlie couldn’t help himself. I was able to play 27 holes that day and at home testing it.
“But because it’s the recovery. How am I going to get all the swelling out and recover for the next day. My team has been fantastic and worked very hard. So we’ve got another day of nine more holes and then come game time.’’
Couples was convinced that Woods was ready to go.
“‘I don’t know the right words,’’ Couples said. “It’s not shocking because he’s the greatest player to ever play. You give him a couple of minutes, you give him a couple of good legs and he swings like this ... but now comes the hard part of it, and I’m not a guy who is going to guestimate on that. I watched it (Monday), he looked phenomenal.’’
More 2022 Masters Coverage on Morning Read:
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- 30 Years Later, Fred Couples' Green Jacket Still Resonates
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