Tiger Woods plans to play Masters – and plans to win

Tiger Woods says he plans to play this week in the Masters, a little more than a year after nearly losing a leg in a car crash.

The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement on Tuesday morning. He said he would play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision, but has every intention of playing Thursday.

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

Asked if he believes he can win this week, he said: “I do. I can hit it just fine.”

He added. “I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. It’s now, walking’s the hard part. This is not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition that my leg is in, it gets a little more difficult. And 72 holes is a long road. It’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.”

There had been plenty of signals in recent days that Woods was on the cusp of deciding it was time to play again. He visited Augusta National for a practice round last week, then returned on Sunday and Monday to play more holes. On Tuesday morning, he spent plenty of time in the practice areas.

Woods 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. Woods was allowed to use a cart in that event, and when those rounds were over he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.

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

Some three and a half months later, he apparently feels differently. If he plays, he’ll be in the Masters for the 24th time. He has finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.

“I love competing,” Woods said. “I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level, I’m going to. And if I feel like I can still win, I’m going to play. But if I feel like I can’t, then you won’t see me out here.”

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

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

Woods’ injuries from that crash were so severe that doctors considered right leg amputation. Instead, they reassembled the limb by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilise additional injuries in the ankle and foot.

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