“I feel like I’m going to play”Woods said at his highly anticipated news conference Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club, where the first Grand Slam of the PGA season kicks off on Thursday.
Woods, 46, plans to play another nine-hole practice round on Wednesday and will make a final determination after seeing how he recovers from that effort. “It’s a question of how my body is going to recover and what my body is capable of doing the next day.”he explained.
According to the schedule, Woods is scheduled to start the first round on Thursday in group 14 of 31 at 11:34 in Argentina alongside Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen.
Tiger could not have chosen a more iconic place for a new feat than Augusta, where he won the first of his 15 Grand Slam titles 25 years ago and was later the scene of other major feats of his career.
Woods said he was lucky to have reached this point, one step away from returning to the Tour, but his ultra-competitive spirit resurfaced when asked if he thinks he has a chance of winning his sixth Masters on Sunday.
“I think so,” he stated. “I have no doubt what I can do golf-wise. Walking is the hard part”. “You know, 72 holes is a long way, and it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for,” she stressed.
Just last February, the Californian acknowledged that he continued to have difficulties with long walks, although he insisted on his goal of one day returning to high competition for specific events.
Augusta’s length and elevations make it one of the most demanding courses on the circuit. “The only flat spots here are the 18 tees,” said the golf legend, who acknowledged that he has not regained full mobility after the accident.
Since his crash on February 23, 2021, where his life was at risk and he suffered multiple fractures in his right leg, Woods only participated in December in the PNC Championship family tournament, where he teamed up with his young son Charlie and toured the field in a golf cart.
Bad weather forecast this week in Augusta may add to the difficulties for Woods’ quest. This same Tuesday a strong storm caused the early interruption of the second day of practices and the eviction of players and spectators from the field.
The “Tigermania” is declared in Augusta since a week ago Woods appeared by surprise in the field to prove himself physically. Since then numerous colleagues have publicly encouraged the idol to compete and a crowd of fans followed him in his public round on Tuesday.
Woods has already played and won in the past affected by injuries. In 2008 he was a US Open champion competing with a stress fracture and torn ligaments in his left knee.
Tiger has chosen for his return a fundamental stage for his legendary career. In 1997 he became the first black golfer in Augusta to don the green championship jacket. In 2019, when he hadn’t lifted a major trophy in 11 years, Tiger scored another emotional win at Augusta after recovering from multiple back surgeries.
This latest return would be even more unexpected, after an accident that not only threatened to put an end to his memorable career, in which he equaled the PGA title record with 82, but also came close to causing the amputation of his the right leg.
Woods suffered the collision in a Los Angeles suburb while driving nearly 90 mph, twice the posted speed. His SUV spun out of control and flipped several times before flipping over.
The Californian, who had to be removed from the vehicle and operated on urgently, spent a month in hospital before beginning a hard and uncertain rehabilitation process.
Source: Ambito
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