A brush with death has not been sufficient to diminish the confidence of Tiger Woods. Speaking before the latest of his unlikely comebacks, at the 86th Masters, Woods has insisted he can win what would be a sixth Green Jacket.
Fourteen months since being confined to a hospital bed after incurring serious injuries from a car crash in California and 17 since his last round of competitive golf, Woods has defied widespread expectation to take his place in the Masters draw. His latest severe damage was in his lower right leg and foot, which are now held together by metal.
“I do,” the 46-year-old American replied when asked if he thought victory at Augusta National was a realistic prospect. “I can hit it just fine. I don’t have any qualms about what I can do from a golf standpoint. It’s now walking is the hard part. This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the conditions that my leg is in, it gets even more difficult. You know, 72 holes is a long road. It’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.
“I think that the fact that I was able to get myself here to this point is a success. Now that I am playing, everything is focused on: ‘How do I get myself into the position where I’m on that back nine on Sunday with a chance?’ Just like I did a few years ago.” Indeed, Woods’s 2019 Masters triumph is regarded as one of the finest sporting comebacks of all time.
Pressed on what gave him motivation to deliver what is a fifth return from serious health issues, Woods said: “Well, I love competing and I feel like, if I can still compete at the highest level, I’m going to. 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. You guys know me better than that.
“I don’t show up to an event unless I think I can win it. So that’s the attitude I’ve had. There will be a day when it won’t happen, and I’ll know when that is, but physically the challenge this week is I don’t have to worry about the ball striking or the game of golf. It’s actually just the hills out here. That’s going to be the challenge and it’s going to be a challenge of a major marathon.”
He will have Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquín Niemann for company during the opening two rounds. Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion, will partner Justin Thomas and the amateur James Piot. Rory McIlroy forms part of the last grouping to play on Thursday, alongside Brooks Koepka and Matt Fitzpatrick. José María Olazábal, the champion of 1994 and 1999, will hit the tournament’s opening drive.
McIlroy has suggested it would be no shock to see Woods compete at the summit of the leaderboard. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” McIlroy said. “I’ve spent a little bit of time with him at home and the golf is there. He’s hitting it well. He’s chipping well. He’s sharp. It’s just the physical demand of getting around 72 holes here this week. That’s probably the question mark. But the golf game is there. So, would I be surprised? No, I’m not surprised at anything he does any more.”
Woods confirmed he would have been perfectly satisfied with his career had it been closed on account of injury. “I think 82 is a pretty good number and 15 is not too bad, either,” he said in respect of his PGA Tour and major victory tallies, respectively.
“I have worked hard. My team has been unbelievable. I have been lucky to have great surgeons and great PTs and physios that have worked on me virtually every day. We have worked hard to get to this point, to get this opportunity to walk the grounds, test it out and see if I can do this.
“It has been a tough, tough year and a lot of stuff that I’ve had to deal with I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But here we are, Masters week.”
Thomas, who played with Woods during practice rounds at Augusta both last week and this, believes his close friend’s game is “plenty, plenty good enough to play well”.
The 2017 US PGA champion said: “Nobody has a work ethic and determination like him. I’ve never seen anything like it in terms of setting your mind to something and kind of setting a goal for yourself and proving to yourself and everybody that you can do it.”
Patrons were asked to evacuate Augusta National at lunchtime on Tuesday after the arrival of a predicted electric storm. But tournament days are forecast as dry but cool.
