After his serious accident, Tiger Woods announced that he plans to play the Augusta Masters

Tiger Woods plans to compete this week at the Augusta Masters, which would be a stunning new return to the sport of the astro of golf, just 13 months after suffering serious injuries to his right leg in a traffic accident.

“Right now I feel like I'm going to play,” he said at a press conference at the Augusta National Golf Club (State of Georgia), where he has been practicing for a week to try and play the first Grand Slam of the season. “I have no qualms about what I can do when it comes to golf. Walking is the hard part,” he revealed.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion plans to play a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday and will make a final decision after watching his body recover from that effort. “It's about how my body is going to recover and what my body can do the next day,” he explained after playing nine-hole practice rounds in the past two days.

Woods said he feels he can win a sixth Masters title to match the all-time record held by Jack Nicklaus despite not having played since the 2020 Masters, played in November of that year due to covid-19.

It is worth remembering that the 46-year-old golfer was hospitalized for weeks and was unable to walk for months after a car accident in February 2021. He later said that he was lucky to have survived and to have escaped with both legs: “That was a difficult path. To say I was going to be here playing... I would have said that very unlikely.”

Now, his plan is to make his 24th opening at the Masters. The North American sports star tested his ability to walk the mountain track last week, and announced that an epic comeback was possible. On Sunday, he tweeted that it would be a “game-time decision” whether or not he would play this week.

Woods put himself to the test with practice rounds on Sunday and Monday, the latter before thousands of fans who supported him in the first full spectator session at Augusta National since 2019, when he won an amazing title to complete a recovery from spinal fusion surgery.

During this week, several top golfers gave their point of view on what could be the return of the big star. “He looked good walking,” said 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples, after sharing nine holes with him. “He didn't miss many shots, he drove very well... this guy is just unreal.”

Australian Cameron Davis, who played the last five holes with Woods in a practice round on Sunday, said: “I was still a little slow climbing a couple of hills on holes 17 and 18. It's hitting good. It's hitting far enough to play the holes the way you need to play them. I don't see any reason why I can't rack up rounds here.”

Woods' opening in Thursday's first round would be one of the most surprising injury returns in the history of the sport, as the five-time Masters champion has not officially played since defending his title at the 2020 Masters. “He's making the shots you need to make,” Davis said. “I was playing well. Everything looked pretty solid. It will be great to see you here if you decide to play on Thursday.”

For his part, the four-time winner of a major, his compatriot Brooks Koepka, who will be looking for his first green jacket, said: “I am happy that he is looking healthier and able to play golf. We need it, the game needs it, everyone needs it, fans need it.”

With information from AFP

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