Masters LIVE: Tiger Woods announces he will play at Augusta in press conference

Tiger Woods has confirmed he expects to play The Masters, marking his return to competitive golf 14 months after being involved in a near-fatal car crash.

The 46-year-old, who won at Augusta in 2019, feared his right leg may have to be amputated shortly after the accident but played in an exhibition event in December with his son, Charlie, fuelling speculation about another comeback.

Woods played a practice round at Augusta last week, and then nine holes on both Sunday and Monday to test his physical condition, before holding a press conference on Tuesday.

The 15-time major winner confirmed “as of right now I am going to play” before adding that he would not do so if he didn’t believe he could win.

The tee times for Thursday morning have been released and we know who will play with Tiger Woods. 2012 Master champion Louis Oosthuizen and 23-year-old Joaquín Niemann will tee off alongside Tiger at 10.34am.

The world’s eyes return to the Augusta National as The Masters gets underway this week.

Hideki Matsuyama defends the Green Jacket but all eyes will be on Tiger Woods this week as the five-time champion prepares to make his first competitive appearance since his horrific car crash last year.

Woods is still understandably seen as an outsider to win, with Jon Rahm the favourite with the bookmakers. However, he is very closely followed by Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith and new world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.

“I think that the fact that I was able to get myself here to this point is a success,” he said towards the end of his press conference.

“And now that I’m playing, now everything is focused on how do I get myself into a position where I’m on that back nine on Sunday with a chance, just like I did a few years ago.”

he eyes of the golfing world turn to Augusta, Georgia for the 86th edition of The Masters - the first men’s major of the season.

Hideki Matsuyama claimed his maiden green jacket 12 months ago at Augusta National, becoming the first Japanese golfer to win a major.

The 30-year-old withdrew from the Valero Texas Open last weekend due to a neck issue and faces a late call on whether he is able to defend his title, while Tiger Woods says ‘as of right now, I feel like I am going to play.’

More from Tiger’s press conference where the 15-time major champion has been explaining his motivation for playing this week.

“I love competing and I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level, I’m going to,” he said. “And if I feel can still win, I’m going to play. But if I feel like I can’t, then you won’t see me out here.

“You guys know me better than that. I don’t show up to an event unless I think I can win it. That’s the attitude I’ve had.

“There’ll be a day when it won’t happen and I’ll know when that is.”

Tiger Woods has confirmed he expects to play The Masters in his return to competitive golf since the serious car crash last year.

The 46-year-old, who won at Augusta in 2019, broke his leg in a single-vehicle collision in February 202 and has had two practice rounds since arriving at Augusta National on Sunday.

In his press conference today, Woods said “as of right now I am going to play”.

Woods was just asked whether he believes he can win the tournament.

“I do,” he replied, “I can hit it just fine. I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint.

“Walking’s the hard part. This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition my leg is in it gets a little more difficult.

“72 holes is a long road and it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.”

Tiger Woods has explained how his recovery from playing is the biggest challenge he faces ahead of competing in The Masters this week.

He also revealed that he played 27 holes during last week’s visit to Augusta with his son Charlie.

“That’s been the challenge,” Woods said of the recovery process. “That’s why I came up here and tested out for 27 holes - we played the par three course, Charlie couldn’t help himself.

“But it’s the recovery, how am I going to get all the swelling out and recover for the next day? My team has been fantastic and worked very hard, so I’ve got another day of nine more holes and then comes game-time.”

‘As of right now, I’m going to play’ says Woods as he answers questions from the media in the Augusta press room.

“I’m going to play nine more holes tomorrow. My recovery has been good. I’ve been very excited about how I’ve recovered each and every day.”