Tiger Woods Plans to Play the Masters

This week golfing legend Tiger Woods surprisingly revealed that he has plans to play the Masters.

The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement Tuesday morning but said will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision.

He will be doing so with the intention of playing Thursday.

“As of right now,” Woods said, “I feel like I’m going to play.”

Woods had came to Augusta National for a practice round last week, then returned Sunday — saying he’d be “a game-time decision” — and Monday for more. On Tuesday morning, with bad weather in the forecast, he spent plenty of time in the practice areas.

“It’s great to be back,” Woods said.

Woods just played in December at the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat Florida course where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son.

“I can’t compete against these guys right now, no,” Woods said on Dec. 19. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete at these guys and be at a high level.”

It’s nearly 4 months later and Woods may feel ready. This would be 24th time he plays the Masters. He’s finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.

Thursday’s opening round would also mark the first time Woods competes against the world’s best players since Nov. 15, 2020, which was the final round of that year’s pandemic-delayed Masters.

He had his fifth back surgery in 2021 and was still recovering from that on Feb. 23, 2021 when he crashed his SUV over a median on a suburban coastal road in Los Angeles and down the side of a hill.

Woods was injured dramatically and doctors considered right leg amputation, before reassembling the limb by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.

“It’s been a tough, tough year … but here we are,” Woods said.

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