Tigermania: Tiger Woods will play in Masters

AUGUSTA, April 5

Tiger Woods will play in this week’s Masters and feels he can win the event for a sixth time in his highly-anticipated return to competition following a car crash last year that nearly resulted in doctors amputating his right leg.

“As of right now I feel like I’m going to play,” Woods said during his pre-tournament news conference.

The decision by the 46-year-old Woods, who is no stranger to staging remarkable comebacks, comes after he arrived at Augusta National on Sunday when he said he would be a gametime decision for the April 7-10 Masters.

The 15-time Major champion has not competed on the PGA Tour since the November 2020 Masters and cast serious doubt on his professional golfing future after suffering serious leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash.

Woods said two months ago he had a “long way to go” in his recovery but kept the golf world on edge after visiting Augusta National last week to practice while his name remained on the provisional list of competitors for the year’s first Major. While fellow golfers have said Woods’ swing is looking good, the big question will be how his surgically reconstructed leg will hold up on the undulating Augusta layout. — Reuters