The past few days resembled an exciting thriller: Will Tiger Woods make his comeback at the 2022 Masters, yes or no? Hopes were dashed by a supposed tournament cancellation, only to return much bigger afterwards. Tiger Woods made it really exciting again a few days before the Masters week. Now Tiger Woods came forward on Twitter and declared that he will travel to Augusta.
Decision still to be made
“I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice,” Tiger Woods wrote on the short message service Twitter on Sunday, but: “It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete.” So it is clear that the five-time Masters winner will indeed try to compete at the 86th Masters. But whether the 46-year-old’s state of health will allow it is the decisive factor.
Tiger tracking for days
More than a year ago, Tiger Woods was involved in a car accident. Since then, no one knew whether he would return to the golf course. A few days before the Masters week, hope sprouted that Tiger could make his comeback at the first Major of 2022. Despite an assumed tournament cancellation, he was still on the list of participating golfers.
Soon, numerous references to his participation in the Masters circulated on the internet. In addition to a recording of Tiger practising on his home course The Medialist under tournament conditions, another discovery made hearts beat faster: Tiger Woods’ private jet flew straight towards Augusta and the 82-time PGA Tour winner played a practice round at Augusta National. Fans now knew: The possibility of Tiger Woods making his comeback after more than a year at the 2022 Masters still exists!
On Sunday before Masters week, an official announcement from the superstar finally followed: Tiger Woods will travel to the 86th Masters and see if a start is possible shortly before the tournament begins. Since the US Masters is an invitation tournament with an elite field, he can afford to wait until the very end before the prestigious Major is played from 7 to 10 April.
Tiger Woods faced career end
Tiger Woods and the events of the tournament had been quiet for the past year. On 23 February 2021, the golf legend suffered serious injuries in a car accident and was in danger of losing his right leg. For months, Woods fought his way back to a life without a wheelchair and crutches. Whether he would ever return to the golf course was unclear. There were first hopes of a comeback in December 2021. Ten months after the devastating accident, Woods teed off together with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship.
However, it remained questionable whether Tiger Woods would ever be able to play a full PGA Tour tournament again. Since then, there has been much speculation about the legend’s comeback. When will it be? Will Woods even be able to return to the PGA Tour? Will his irrepressible ambition bring him back to the golf tournaments of this world?
A few weeks before the first major of 2022, the Masters Tournament in Augusta, disappointing news emerged: Woods ruled out a return at the 2022 Masters. With the decision to become the oldest Masters winner of all time, he would return to the Masters 2023 at the earliest. Shortly before the 2022 Masters, the turnaround followed and Woods decided that he wanted to compete in the world’s most famous golf tournament as early as this year. We will know in a few days whether it really works out.