Tiger Woods is so often bullish about his chances ahead of The Masters but it is clear that his outlook is now changing as he puts his ailing body to the test once again at Augusta.
Woods is making his 25th competitive appearance in golf's most prestigious tournament this week but severe physical limitations are taking their toll on the 47-year-old.
It is a feat in itself for the injury-ravaged Woods to be in the field at the first major of the season following his life-threatening car accident in Los Angeles two years ago.
But his failure to declare his confidence in a claiming a sixth green jacket - however improbable that reality is - was conspicuous in Tuesday's media conference.
The 15-time major champion customarily dares fans to dream by insisting he only enters an event to win, but there is a growing sense that Woods is slowly reaching the end game.
He miraculously made the cut in last year's tournament, but faded badly over the weekend with consecutive rounds of 78 and negotiating the hilly Augusta layout will once again prove just as difficult as any of the challenges faced around Amen Corner.
Woods has accepted that he will never be able to play the golf the way he would like to again, but he is learning more about what his body can cope with and is ultimately grateful to still have his right leg after fears of amputation from the 2021 car crash.
“Mobility, it’s not where I would like it, but I’ve said to you guys before, I’m very lucky to have this leg," he said. "Yes, it has been altered and there’s some hardware in there, but it’s still mine. It has been tough and will always be tough.
“The ability and endurance of what my leg will do going forward will never be the same. I understand that. That’s why I can’t prepare and play as many tournaments as I like, but that’s my future, and that’s okay. I’m okay with that.
“I think my game is better than it was last year at this particular time. I think my endurance is better. But it aches a little bit more than it did last year just because at that particular time when I came back, I really had not pushed it that often."
Woods has to place huge emphasis on recovery at the end of each round and has most recently suffered with plantar fasciitis, a painful condition that developed in his right foot. But his last outing was a T45 finish at the Genesis Invitational in February and nobody knows Augusta quite like the five-time champion.
He will play alongside Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele in his opening two rounds at Augusta and packed galleries will once more cherish the presence of a relentless winner who admits: "I don't know how many more I have in me."
