Tiger Woods insists he can win a sixth green jacket and 16th major title, despite detailing the pain he faces on the vast majority of shots at Augusta National.
Woods has played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.
The 48-year-old returned to action in the Hero World Challenge in December and completed all 72 holes, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.
Woods had also suffered a back spasm which led to a dreaded shank on the 18th hole in round one, but stuck to his tried and tested answer when asked what he thought he could achieve this week.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” Woods said, adding with a smile: “Do I need to describe that any more than that, or are we good?”
Yet that question and answer came just minutes after Woods had candidly described the issues that the litany of injuries he has suffered over the years – including almost losing his right leg following a car accident in 2021 – cause him on anything but a perfectly flat lie.
“Every shot that’s not on a tee box is a challenge,” Woods conceded.
“The ankle doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s fused. It’s not going anywhere. So that’s fine. It’s other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it.
“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 (is an issue).
“Things just flare up. The training that we have to do at home, it changes from a day-to-day basis. Some days I just feel really good and other days not so much. I hurt every day.
“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.”
While writing Woods off has proved a dangerous game in the past, making a 24th-consecutive cut at Augusta National, having equalled the record shared by Gary Player and Fred Couples last year, appears a far more achievable goal than winning.
“I think it’s consistency, it’s longevity and it’s an understanding of how to play this golf course,” Woods said of that potential landmark.
“That’s one of the reasons why you see players that are in their 50s and 60s make cuts here, or it’s players in their late 40s have runs at winning the event, just the understanding of how to play it.
“Now, you still have to go out and execute it, but there’s a lot of knowledge that goes into understanding how to play it. And, granted, every tee box has been changed since the first time I played. Every green has been changed.
“But the overall configuration of how they roll and how they move and the angles you take, that hasn’t changed.
“That’s the neat thing about this. I can still go through the mental Rolodex and bring out a few putts from the ’90s that still move generally in that direction and the effect that Rae’s Creek has on certain shots and putts. And it means a lot.”
Woods, who will partner Jason Day and Max Homa in the first two rounds, said he remained in discussions about becoming Ryder Cup captain in 2025 and also reiterated his view that Rory McIlroy would definitely win the Masters at some point to complete the career grand slam.
“No question, he’ll do it at some point,” Woods said. “Rory’s too talented, too good. He’s going to be playing this event for a very long time. He’ll get it done. It’s just a matter of when.
“I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day and it could be this week. The way he plays the game and the golf course fits his eye, it’s just a matter of time.”
Tiger Woods confirmed as part of PGA Championship field
Tiger Woods has been officially named as part of the field for next week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
Woods, who has clinched four of his 15 major titles at the PGA Championship, made a record-breaking 24th consecutive cut at the Masters last month.
A nightmare third round of 82 – his worst ever at Augusta National – meant he finished last of all players to make the cut on 16 over, but he immediately outlined his intention to play the remaining three majors of 2024.
On Tuesday, the 48-year-old was officially confirmed as being part of the field for next week's event in Louisville, joining 15 other past winners including Rory McIlroy and defending champion Brooks Koepka.
Two further spots will be allocated to the winners of this week's Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic.
While McIlroy won the last PGA Championship to be held at Valhalla in 2014, Woods triumphed on the previous occasion in 2000, the first leg of the 'Tiger Slam' in which he held all four major titles at once.
Last week, Woods was given a special exemption to allow him to feature at June's U.S. Open, for which he failed to qualify after slipping to 801st in the world rankings.
Things trending in the right direction for Koepka ahead of PGA Championship defence
Brooks Koepka believes things are trending in the right direction as he prepares to defend his PGA Championship title next week, having warmed up with a two-shot win at LIV Golf Singapore.
Koepka recorded his first triumph on the LIV circuit this year on Sunday, shooting a three-under final round of 68 to see off competition from Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.
A resurgent Smith shot five under in the third round in Singapore, but Koepka carded four birdies and one bogey to ensure he became the first player to win four titles on the LIV tour.
His return to form comes at an ideal time, as he gears up for a bid to win his fourth PGA Championship title – and sixth major overall – at Valhalla Golf Club next week.
"It's all starting to come around. I've put in a lot of work and I like the way things are trending," the Florida native said.
"I just need to go back next week and make sure everything continues, do the right stuff and go from there."
Kopeka had finished in a share of ninth in LIV's previous event in Adelaide one week earlier, four shots back of winner Brendan Steele.
The 34-year-old continued: "I feel good – I feel a lot better than I did last week.
"It was about rounding the corner for me. I was improving but the results weren't there. It's nice to see some results and the hard work paying off.
"I still have the same expectations every time I go tee it up and that's to win. Those are my expectations, what I want to do. One result doesn't mean anything really in the scheme of things.
"For two weeks, a lot can change. Yeah, it does help, but at the same time, I've seen guys miss cuts and then go win and then win and then not compete the week after. It's all ebbs and flows."
Emily Odwin helps SMU defend AAC Women’s Golf title; becomes first Barbadian golfer to win American Collegiate Conference Championship
Top Bajan female golfer, Emily Odwin, made history when she became the first Barbadian golfer to win an American Collegiate Conference Championship by helping the Southern Methodist University Mustangs win the American Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championship from April 15-17 at the Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Florida.
Odwin’s Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs staged a major come back from a tournament-low 12-under 276 to move up two spots.
They then overcome a nine-stroke deficit to secure the title, becoming only the second team to repeat as champions in the process.
Odwin, who is also the first Barbadian female to ever play NCAA Division One golf, had a five-under 211 to lead her team’s charge along with teammates Ellie Szerk and Mackenzie Lee. All three tied for fifth in the individual standings.
Odwin shot a three-under 33 on the back nine to shoot up the standings.
She joined the Mustangs after transferring from the University of Texas and has played for them in seven starts this season in which she had four top ten finishes.
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