AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods is back at Augusta National. Fused ankle and all, he’s ready to compete for his sixth green jacket and 16th major championship.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” Woods said Tuesday during a pre-tournament news conference.
Woods will tee off alongside Jason Day and Max Homa at 1:24 p.m. ET on Thursday. He hasn’t teed it up since February’s Genesis Invitational, where he returned to official tournament competition for the first time since last year’s Masters. Woods withdrew from the Genesis after 26 holes with a stomach illness — meaning he enters this week having not played 72 holes in official tournament competition since February 2023.
He made the cut at Augusta National last year — his record-tying 23rd consecutive cut at the storied venue — but withdrew before the conclusion of Round 3 due to a flare-up of plantar fasciitis in his right leg. Following the tournament, Woods underwent ankle fusion surgery to address the lingering issues from his near-fatal 2021 single-car crash. Now, the 48-year-old said he has no ankle pain, but the impact of the injury has extended to other parts of his body.
“The ankle doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s fused. It’s not going anywhere,” Woods said. “So that’s fine. It’s other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it. Once (Woods’ surgeon) put the rods in there, it’s good to go. But, the back, the knee — other parts of the body have to take the load of it, and just the endurance capability of walking a long time and being on my feet for a long time.”
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In December at the Hero World Challenge, Woods’ 20-man invitational event in the Bahamas, he shared that considering the status of his body, he intended to play competitively “once a month.”
The idea made sense with the PGA Tour cadence. First would be the Genesis at Riviera Country Club in February and then The Players Championship in March. Next up, major season: He’d tee it up in the Masters in April, the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June, followed by the Open Championship in July.
At the Hero, Woods walked 72 holes and finished third-to-last. So far in 2024, he has played one complete competitive round.
What happened?
“Well, I wasn’t ready to play,” Woods said. “My body wasn’t ready. My game wasn’t ready. And I thought that when I was at Hero, once a month would be a really nice rhythm. Hasn’t worked out that way. But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once-a-month hopefully kicks in.”
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The key word is “hopefully.” Woods’ week at Augusta National will be a telling experiment of how his body can hold up on a hilly, undulating course. Woods candidly admitted Tuesday any lie that’s “not on a tee box” will be a significant challenge.
Off the golf course, Woods will soon have other matters to handle. The 82-time PGA Tour winner was also asked Tuesday about the U.S. Ryder Cup team captaincy for 2025 at Bethpage Black.
29 years after his first Masters, Tiger Woods’ time at Augusta National is filled with emotions. #themasters pic.twitter.com/yjcGXHHRVe
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2024
Woods revealed he’s “still talking about it” with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.
“It’s something that Seth and I are going to sit back and talk about it after this event,” Woods said. “I said I’m going to be busy for a couple of weeks, so let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another jacket, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week.”
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(Photo: Warren Little / Getty Images)
