On Wednesday, the 15-time major winner Tiger Woods was listed in the field for the forthcoming Masters tournament at Augusta National next month, confirming his official participation.
Following his ankle surgery, the 48-year-old is presently making a comeback path. He was compelled to withdraw from last year’s Masters tournament following the third round due to an injury.
The Genesis Invitational in February marked Tiger Woods’ last competitive appearance, but he didn’t make it past the first six holes of the second round before withdrawing due to illness.
Rob McNamara, the business partner and close friend of the golf legend, reported that he withdrew from the Genesis tournament due to a fever accompanied by flu-like symptoms during his second round.
Anticipation had built up for Woods to make a comeback after his early departure from Riviera Country Club by participating in The Players Championship last week.
At the end of last year’s Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods announced his plan to participate in a competition every month throughout 2024. Many anticipated that he would use the esteemed TPC Sawgrass event as practice for the first major tournament of the year.
Nevertheless, Woods was unable to participate in The Players since he failed to meet the 5pm ET commitment deadline on the Friday before the competition.
The icon’s decision to miss the esteemed occasion, particularly as it commemorated its 50 years of existence, was rather unexpected.
However, supporters of the legend need not despair as Woods was included in The Masters 2024 lineup when the official website updated on Wednesday morning.
On Monday, amidst continuing negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi financiers PIF of LIV Golf, Player Directors including Woods met with Bahamas-based chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
While in Albany for a meeting, Woods played several holes with Al-Rumayyan as reported by Dan Rapaport.
In 2022, Woods made a noteworthy comeback to professional golf at The Masters tournament. This feat was achieved merely fourteen months following the horrific solo car accident in February 2021 that nearly resulted in him losing a leg.
At times, the 82-time winner on the PGA Tour limps while struggling to walk the course due to injuries sustained in a previous accident.
Woods exhibited apparent discomfort while playing the damp and windy third round at Augusta National in the previous year, ultimately withdrawing from competition due to a reoccurrence of his plantar fasciitis.
In April, he underwent surgery to address the injury and maintained a relatively low public profile both on and off the course. He eventually made his competitive comeback at the Hero World Challenge.
The main worry regarding Woods’ capacity to complete a round was not related to his performance, but instead centered on the discomfort he experienced in his ankle and leg while walking the course.
After the surgery, he disclosed that walking was not as big of a worry anymore.
Back in November, he stated that walking without concern was possible for him. His ankle pains had disappeared due to the hardware being removed from his foot. However, other parts of his body such as his knee and back were experiencing discomfort since the forces associated with walking are redirected elsewhere; much like when he underwent a back fusion procedure causing similar effects up the chain.