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

It was 25 years ago and he was only seven years old at the time, but Rory McIlroy’s recall of Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters proves unerringly accurate.

Already aware of Woods dominating amateur golf in the United States before turning professional in August 1996, McIlroy was not about to miss the rising star’s major championship debut in the paid ranks.

“The ’97 Masters, yeah, I watched it all,” McIlroy told the PA news agency on the eve of Woods being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last month.

The world No. 2 John Rahm is up in The Masters interview room and he’ll be followed by Tiger Woods in about 10-15 minutes time.

Perhaps predictably Rahm was asked about Tiger and whether he had been given any advice from the 15-time major champion on how to play Augusta.

“I think there’s only one man in this field that hears advice from Tiger, because I’ve asked before and I get nothing,” Rahm joked. “So you might need to ask Justin Thomas.

“I’ve asked him before. I remember asking him at East Lake the year he won, before when we were on the putting green during a practice round, I said, ‘hey man, any tips for Bermuda?’ He turned round and just said, ‘it’s all about feel,’ and kept going. I was like, ‘cool, thank you.’

“I asked him at Albany once about chipping into the grain. He says, ‘it’s just got to be shallow.’ I’m like ‘ok, right,’ meanwhile I turn round and JT’s there with him and he’s getting a whole dissertation on what to do.”

Rory McIlroy says Tiger Woods is playing well enough to compete for victory at The Masters and wouldn’t be surprised in Woods does play this week.

Speaking in his press conference earlier today, McIlroy said he has been impressed by what he’s seen of Woods’ game during practice rounds in Florida.

“I’ve spent a little bit of time with him at home and the golf is there,” he said. “He’s hitting it well, he’s chipping well, he’s sharp.

“It’s the physical demand of getting around 72 holes here this week – that’s probably the question mark, but the golf game is there.

“So would I be surprised? No I’m not surprised at anything he does anymore.”

The 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott says he is expecting Tiger Woods to play in the Masters this week and is excited by the possibility.

“It’s exciting there’s the possibility he’s going to play this week,” he said “I really hope he does. No matter what, it would just be epic.

“I’ve learned long ago never doubt the guy. If he can get around, which seems to be the question, you can’t doubt his golf.”

All the signs from Tiger Woods seem to point to him teeing up in the Masters on Thursday. He’s been out on the driving range this morning and has moved across to the practice green ahead of his press conference later on.

Golfweek columnist Eamon Lynch believes that Woods will feature this week. He says that Tiger could have tested his fitness anywhere and wouldn’t have come to Augusta National if he didn’t think he could make it around the course and compete.

A swoosh as Tiger Woods crushed his driver on the range at Augusta National on Sunday came with his signature beaming smile.

The face of golf had finally validated weeks of speculation and rumours about secret visits to this hallowed turf, where The Masters, the first major of the men’s golf season, begins on Thursday.

The latest miraculous recovery for one of the most engrossing sporting figures of a generation is almost complete. It is just 14 months after a sickening single-vehicle collision in California, which threatened to leave Woods with no choice but to amputate one of his legs after sustaining multiple fractures.

But here he is, gracing Augusta once more, where he truly belongs. Three years after slipping on his fifth Green Jacket. Woods has been deliberate in emphasising that teeing it up on Thursday is not merely a formality – it will be a “game-time decision”.

His demeanour on Sunday, alongside his rippling muscles underneath his salmon pink shirt and impressive torque in each swing at practice, suggests Woods means business.

Back in February Tiger Woods made it clear that he thought the hilly terrain at Augusta National would come too soon in his recovery from a leg injury sustained in a car crash 14-months-ago.

He spent several months of last year in hospital after sustaining a number of serious injuries in the crash caused by him driving at close to double the 45mph speed limit.

He was told at the time that he could have died in the accident and that his leg may need to be amputated in a worst case scenario. That didn’t happen but the feeling at the time was that Woods’ golf career may have come to an early end.

Woods’ last professional tournament was the rescheduled Masters in November 2020, when he was defending champion, and he is scheduled to speak to the media at 4pm today.

It is unclear if he will confirm whether he will play at this stage and with storms forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday he may not be able to get too much more time on the course to assess his fitness levels.

His presence at Augusta this week has brought out the crowds as well. There was a huge cheer when he emerged from the clubhouse for a practice round on nine holes on Monday and most of the spectators followed his group around the course with one question in mind:

Will Tiger Woods be playing in the Masters this week?

Tiger Woods practised at Augusta National for the second day running as he stepped up his preparations for the 86th Masters on Monday.

Woods has not played in a top-level event since being involved in a horrific car crash in February 2021.

The 15-time major winner, who feared shortly after the accident that his right leg would have to be amputated, competed in the PNC Championship with son Charlie in December.

Tiger Woods shocked a lot of people when he announced that he is hoping to compete in this year’s Masters tournament just 14 months after suffering life-threatening injuries in a car crash in Los Angeles.

The 46-year-old played 18 holes last week, a few on Sunday and then nine more on Monday alongside fellow professional Justin Thomas and 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples both of whom are good friends with Woods.

“I’m sure he’s going to tee it up on Thursday,” said Couples after the round before adding that Tiger looked “phenomenal” and “very impressive”.

“He’ll never let you know if he’s in pain. He was bombing it. He didn’t miss many shots, drove it great. He’s just unreal.

“Now it’s just the walking part. If he can walk around here for 72 holes, he’ll contend.”

Tiger Woods will make a “game-time decision” on competing at this week’s Masters, the five-time champion said on Sunday as he continues his recovery from the serious leg injuries he suffered in a car crash in February 2021.

Woods’ car crash resulted in a three-week hospital stay in Los Angeles where he faced the possibility of having his right leg amputated. He was then confined to a hospital-type bed for three months at his home in South Florida.

The 46-year-old has not played on the PGA Tour since the November 2020 Masters and his only golf event since the accident came last December when he finished runner-up alongside his son in a 36-hole exhibition played on a flat course with no rough.

“I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete,” Woods wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

He has a spot in the Masters press conference later today where he is expected to announce his comeback and that he’ll be competing in the first major of the year.