Tiger Woods is on track to make his 26th appearance at the Masters. As things currently stand, the five-time Masters champion will tee off at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.
The 48-year-old icon arrived at Augusta on Sunday and was seen utilizing the practice area alongside his caddie, Lance Bennett. On Sunday, The Masters posted a set of photos to their X account that showed Woods practicing.
Woods is looking to make a run for a sixth Green Jacket following a disappointing exit in 2023. Woods made the cut in ’23 but ultimately withdrew from the tournament in the third round after aggravating plantar fasciitis in his right foot. If he makes the cut, Woods will set a Masters record by reaching the weekend for a 24th-straight time.
The last time we saw Woods on the course was at the Genesis Invitational. Stricken with the flu during the tournament, Woods withdrew during the second round. Additionally, Woods was battling an iffy lower back that week.
Speaking on a conference call last week, NBC Sports analyst — and Woods’ former teammate at Stanford — Notah Begay III spoke about Woods’ back troubles.
“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 “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”
“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.”
In addition to his five wins at the Masters, Woods has seven additional top-5 finishes.
