american golfer Tiger Woods confirmed this Sunday that he will try until the last moment to compete in the Augusta Masters next week, which would imply his return to official competition after his car crash February 2021.
“Today I will be heading to Augusta to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a last minute decision if I compete or not,” Woods advanced on his Twitter account.
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. Congratulations to 16-year-old Anna Davis on an amazing win at the @anwagolf and good luck to all the kids in the @DriveChipPutt.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods)
April 3, 2022
The American has fueled the intrigue about his possible return since he was practicing last week in the emblematic Augusta National Golf Club (Georgia), where 25 years ago he won his first title in Grand Slam and forged his legend in the world of golf.
At the moment Woods, 46, remains on the entry list for the Masters, whose first round starts on Thursday, but has not confirmed definitively whether he will play.
“Having Tiger there would be phenomenal,” the former world number one said this week. Rory McIlroy.
Among the many challenges Woods would face were the length and elevations of Augusta, one of the most demanding courses on the circuit.
In February, before hosting the tournament Genesis Invitationalthe Californian acknowledged that he continued to have difficulties with long journeys on foot.
Since the accident, in which he suffered multiple fractures in his right leg, Woods has only participated in the family tournament last December PNC Championshipwhere he played as a couple with his young son Charlie, who was 12 years old.
Woods, who then moved around the course using a golf cart, took the event as a moment to enjoy with his son but his competitive spirit arose and the pair came close to victory.
That day the former world number one acknowledged feeling fatigued by the effort and far from being able to compete again with the best golfers in the world.
“I’m not at that level. As I said, I’m not going to play a full schedule anymore,” he reiterated. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get to a level where I feel like I can compete with these guys.”
comeback scenario
Woods, winner of 15 tournaments Grand Slamhas reiterated that his goal is to compete in designated events on the PGA circuit but without specifying a return date.
His last tournament PGA was the Masters 2020, which that year was pushed back to November due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Masters is an essential tournament in Woods’ career, the scene of both his first Grand Slam victory in 1997 and his last in 2019, where he starred in one of his miraculous comebacks.
The Californian then achieved an emotional and unexpected victory, his first in a major tournament in 11 years, after recovering from multiple back surgeries.
Now Woods is determined to attempt another amazing comeback after devastating injuries sustained in the crash, after which he said he was lucky to have saved his right leg.
The American crashed his truck in a suburb of The Angels (California) at about 140 km/h, about twice the legal speed, and was hospitalized for about a month.