Tiger Woods weighs up competing at Masters

The 15-time major champion said he will take a 'game-time decision' about playing at Augusta

Powered by automated translation

Tiger Woods on Sunday revealed he will make a "game-time decision" about competing at next week's Masters.

The five-times champion is continuing his recovery from serious leg injuries he suffered in a car crash in February 2021, and has been looking to make a dramatic return at Augusta National.

Woods said six weeks ago that he had a "long way to go" in his recovery but the narrative changed recently regarding a return at the April 7-10 Masters as he avoided removing his name from the field of competitors.

Woods raised hopes that he could compete at the season's first major after playing a practice round at Augusta National with son Charlie and world No 7 Justin Thomas.

"I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete," Woods said on Twitter.

Rory McIlroy had earlier said it "would be phenomenal" if Woods is able to compete at the Masters.

"I think it just adds to the event," McIlroy said in San Antonio. "Anything Tiger Woods does in the game of golf is heightened whenever he's there. I mean, it would be awesome for him to be there."

"The sheer will and perseverance is incredible," McIlroy added. "If he comes back from this again, it's just, he likes to prove people wrong, he likes to prove himself wrong, I think."

The American great had to endure a three-week hospital stay in Los Angeles where he also faced the possibility of having his right leg amputated. He was then confined to his bed for three months at his home in South Florida.

Woods, 46, has not played on the PGA Tour since the November 2020 Masters. Playing at Augusta National represents one of the more challenging walks on the PGA Tour given its up and down terrain.

However, Woods has played through pain, famously at the 2008 US Open where he prevailed in a thrilling playoff at Torrey Pines while competing on what was essentially a broken leg.

The 15-time major champion capped one of the most remarkable comebacks in sport when, at the age of 43, he won the Masters in 2019 after enduring years of surgery and personal issues.

In Sunday's Twitter post, Woods also congratulated 16-year-old Anna Davis for her victory on Saturday in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. A sophomore in high school who still doesn't have her driver's license, Davis was the only player to finish under par and became the youngest winner in the tournament's history.

Updated: April 04, 2022, 6:11 AM