Tiger’s back at the Masters, and a little more philosophical about his chances

It has been a low-key advent at his silver jubilee appearance at the Masters, but Tiger Woods is quietly determined to make a mark. That is something he seeks to do with every competitive start despite a list of injuries that would have benched lesser mortals long ago, made worse by an accident two years ago that almost cost the golf legend the use of his right leg.

Overshadowing the presence of the five-time winner of the Green Jacket is the presence of 18 (now 17) men from the LIV Golf League and the endless debate whether or not they should be there in the first place, how they will go against the cream of talent from the PGA Tour, etc, etc.

Between 1997 and 2005, Tiger Woods was a dominant force at the iconic course – almost making it a hat-trick with consecutive wins in 2002 and 2002 – before be pulled in his fifth title against the odds in 2019 in an emotion-drenched final day at Augusta National. 

Yet the uber-competitive 47-year-old is also a realist and knows the clock is ticking and Jack Nicklaus’ mark of six Masters titles is getting further and further away.

“Whether I’m a threat or not, who knows,” he said on Tuesday. “People probably didn’t think I was a threat in 2019 either but that kind of turned out OK.”

Tiger’s first two rounds will be alongside Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who has twice won his tournament in the Bahamas, the Hero World Challenge, Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Xander Schauffele. 

It will only be the 15-time major winner’s second start of the year and his fourth through the 2022 season, and while Tiger did make the cut last year at Augusta, it was a hard slog around the undulating landscape of the Georgia venue.

Of his 2022 experience, Woods said at a press conference, “Well, it's different. I didn't win the tournament, but for me to be able to come back and play was a small victory in itself. Yeah, I still would have liked to have gotten the W, but I didn't, but I think I got my own smaller version of that, to be able to come back and just be able to play. 

“I had a little time off there before; I had not played in a while. I know the golf course and I know where to miss and I know where to hit it. I was able to do that and somehow shoot under par and make it to the weekend. It was a little tough on that Saturday.

“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. And I had a little window in which I did push it and was able to come back. Fast-forwarding, I didn't really play a whole lot afterwards. Took a little bit to recover from the event.

“I played in February at LA (at the Genesis Invitational where he finished tied for 45th place) and then took a little time off before getting ready for this. You know, I just have to be cognizant of how much I can push it. I can hit a lot of shots but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what it is. I wish it could be easier.”

Still and all, he remains a stubborn competitor, something he is keen to remind the world about despite all the ups and downs over the years. So does that define him?

“Stubbornness? Yeah, you guys have seen me. I'm a little on the stubborn side. I believe in hard work, and I believe in getting out there and getting out of it what you put into it. I've worked very hard throughout my career and in my craft; I've always loved it.

“I've certainly had my share of adversity physically and had multiple surgeries and I've had to come back and work through that. You know, those were tough. They were never easy. But it's just the overall desire to win has always been there, and I've always worked at it and believed in what I could do.

“I don't know how many more (Masters appearances) I have in me. I know more guys on the Champions Tour than I do the regular tour. The overall desire to win has always been there. And I've always worked at it and believed in what I could do.

“I'm very lucky to have this leg; it's mine. 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 OK. I'm OK with that.”