Tiger Woods is on track to play in the 86th Masters Tournament.
“As of right now I feel like I am going to play,” he said Tuesday.
He was also asked if he thought he could win the Masters, and his response was simple.
“I do,” he said.
Woods suffered serious injuries to his lower body, especially his right leg — to a point where amputation was on the table, and it seemed far-fetched to imagine he could be playing at Augusta National Golf Club when the first major begins on April 7.
Yet every time we think he’s done, he proves us wrong.
“When I feel like I can’t win anymore that’ll be it,” Woods added. “But I feel like I can still do it.”
Woods made a trip to Augusta National last week to see the course and evaluate whether or not his body could hold up walking 18 holes at the historic host venue.
“Tiger wants to compete. He doesn’t want to just be a celebrity and show up at the Masters. He wants to be able to play. He wants to be able to play 72 holes and he wants to be in competition. He wants to have a chance to win,” Brad Faxon said on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “I don’t think Tiger Woods shows up unless he can do that.”
The five-time Masters champion returned to the golf course this past December when he teed it up with his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship. The game was sharp, considering bodily limitations, and Team Woods nearly won.
The 46-year-old has doused the fire of expectation with great persistence this time around, especially during a broadcast appearance alongside Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo at the Genesis Invitational, an event Woods’ foundation hosts.
Rory McIlroy, during an interview with Golf Channel at the Valero Texas Open, admitted that Woods has made great strides between the time he saw the 15-time major champion a few weeks ago and their encounter at Augusta earlier this week.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Woods winning his first Green Jacket in record fashion by 12 strokes in 1997. Woods, who won his fifth coat in 2019, turned 46 in December, the same age as Jack Nicklaus when he won his record sixth Masters in 1986.
Woods has come back countless times from injury, from controversy, and now — he’s done it again.
“There are two three-word phrases to me that define his career — Tiger wins again and Tiger is back,” said Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner in a conference call previewing next week’s Masters. “Here we are again, and it’s going to be Tiger, 25 years later, still bringing that juice that only he can bring. And I think the sport needs it right now.”
