AUGUSTA: Tiger Woods says, for now anyway, he’s planning to play this week in the Masters.
The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement Tuesday morning. He will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision, but will be doing so with the intention of playing Thursday.
“As of right now,” Woods said, “I feel like I’m going to play.”
There had been plenty of signals in recent days that Woods was on the cusp of deciding it was time to play again. He came to Augusta National for a practice round last week, then returned Sunday — saying he’d be “a game-time decision” — and Monday for more. On Tuesday morning, with bad weather in the forecast, he spent plenty of time in the practice areas.
“It’s great to be back,” Woods said.
Woods played in December at the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat Florida course where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son. Woods was allowed to use a cart in that event, and when those rounds were over he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.
“I can’t compete against these guys right now, no,” Woods said on Dec. 19. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete at these guys and be at a high level.”
About 3-1/2 months later, Woods apparently feels differently. If he plays, he’ll be in the Masters for the 24th time; he’s finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.
Thursday’s opening round would mark the first time Woods competes against the world’s best players since Nov. 15, 2020, which was the final round of that year’s pandemic-delayed Masters.
He had his fifth back surgery two months later and was still recovering from that on Feb. 23, 2021 when he crashed his SUV over a median on a suburban coastal road in Los Angeles and down the side of a hill.
Woods’ injuries from that crash were so severe that doctors considered right leg amputation, before reassembling the limb by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilize additional injuries in the ankle and foot.
“It’s been a tough, tough year ... but here we are,” Woods said.
Tiger Woods says he’s planning to play the Masters
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Tiger Woods says he’s planning to play the Masters
- The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement Tuesday morning
- “As of right now," Woods said, “I feel like I'm going to play”
Leclerc fastest for Ferrari on final day of F1 testing
- Leclerc’s best time of one minute 31.992 seconds was 0.879 quicker than McLaren’s Norris
- Leclerc was in the car all day
MANAMA: Formula One wrapped up pre-season testing in Bahrain on Friday with Charles Leclerc fastest for Ferrari and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad pounding out a single-day record of 165 laps.
Leclerc’s best time of one minute 31.992 seconds was 0.879 quicker than McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris, second on the timesheets, and fastest of the three-day second test.
Four-times world champion Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull, 1.117 off the pace and pre-season favorite George Russell fourth for Mercedes and well off Kimi Antonelli’s Thursday best of 1:32.803.
Leclerc was in the car all day, with teammate and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton watching from the garage, and completed 132 laps of the Sakhir circuit.
Alpine, last overall in 2025, had Pierre Gasly fifth fastest with Oliver Bearman sixth for Haas and Gabriel Bortoleto seventh for the Audi works team that has replaced Sauber on the starting grid.
Lindblad, the sole rookie this season, was ninth and set a record for laps in a single day in Bahrain with the Racing Bulls car looking solid with the new Red Bull engine. The most previously was 161 by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri last week.
At the other end of the table, troubled Aston Martin completed only six laps with Lance Stroll scheduled to be in the car all day but failing to set a time with the team sidelined by a battery problem.
The 24-round season starts in Australia on March 8.
