There’s some good news and bad news regarding Tiger Woods’ appearance at this year’s Masters Tournament that begins April 8.
The good news is he will play. The bad news is it’s not clear how long he will be able to play.
Former Stanford teammate and longtime friend Notah Begay III spoke to USA Today about Woods’ health.
“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with. And he’s got some constraints,” Begay said Wednesday. “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”
Woods told Begay at a junior golf tournament, “my ankle doesn’t move. So something’s going to take the stress. I mean, the stress is going to transfer somewhere else.”
In February, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational, citing a back injury in the first round.
Much of Woods’ ailments stem from a 2021 car accident when he almost lost his lower right leg, USA Today reported.
“For the past couple months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover,” Begay said. “He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be ‘Can he walk the 72 (holes)?’ That’s still up in the air. But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
Woods has won the Masters five times. His most recent victory, in 2019, came more than 10 years after his last major victory, per the outlet.
