Tiger Woods is making preparations to compete at the Masters Tournament next week — and taking drastic measures to ensure that he’s ready to play.
“He’s focused,” says a friend of the 48-year-old golfer. “He’s working really hard in the gym. He’s eating right. He’s even eliminated sex.
“He does that now when he’s preparing: no sex until the tournament is over. He doesn’t want anything to take away his focus.”
Tiger Woods has “eliminated sex” while training for the Masters Tournament, a friend says.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Tiger Woods kisses then-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn in 2014.Bill Ingram / USA TODAY NETWORK
Woods is currently single. His six-year relationship with girlfriend Erica Herman — a former waitress at his restaurant in Jupiter, Florida — ended acrimoniously in 2023.
She took him to court, suing him in for $30m in an attempt to get out of a non-disclosure agreement she had signed, but dropped the case in November last year. Woods also previously dated ski racer Lindsey Vonn.
When asked by The Post if Woods is currently dating, his pal demurred, saying “there’s no one to speak of.”
Tiger isn’t the first athlete to abstain from sexual activity before competition. Muhammad Ali once claimed that he remained celibate for six weeks before a big match; Mike Tyson later said that he went for five years without sex during his prime.
In the 1980s, The San Francisco 49ers had “red light games,” where players were forbidden from having sex for days before they took the field.
But not all athletes agree. In a 1969 interview with Playboy, Joe Namath said that he had sex before games to “get rid of the kind of nervous tension that an athlete doesn’t need.”
In 2010, then-England soccer team manager Fabio Capello banned players from sex before matches while preparing for that year’s World Cup, to prevent them from getting “distracted.”
Four years later a handful of national teams followed suit — Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Mexico and Russia — although it didn’t seem to work, and all crashed out of the World Cup tournament in its early stages.
Woods hasn’t officially announced that he’s playing in the Masters, but he is privately telling people in his inner circle he will compete, according to the friend.
He flew to Georgia over the weekend and played a round at Augusta National, where the tournament takes place, which appears signals his interest.
If Woods enters the Masters, it will be the 26th time for the five-time champion, who last won the tournament in 2019.
Woods’ 2023 Masters bid was cut short when he withdrew after 54 holes due to plantar fasciitis. He has maintained a low profile in the past year since.
Woods has long maintained the Masters is his favorite tournament.
“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods told reporters during his second round in 2023. “Obviously, I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I love it.”
After his 2009 sex scandal, he took a five-month hiatus from the sport, but made his return at the 2010 Masters. Despite mounting health woes over the past several years, Woods has never skipped a Masters. He has only missed the cut for the tournament once, in 1996.
“The Masters is Tiger’s must-play event every year,” says the insider. “He’s working very hard, spending hours in the gym, practicing, taking care of himself. He wants to play, and he always plays to win.”
