Tiger at Augusta for practice ahead of Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — If there were any lingering questions about Tiger Woods competing in the 87th Masters this week, he answered them by showing up to practice at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.

Woods, 47, has competed in just one official PGA Tour event in more than seven months, tying for 45th in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles in February.

The 15-time major championship winner made his official return to competitive golf at the 2022 Masters, which was his first start in 508 days after he was seriously injured in a car wreck in February 2021. He finished 47th after carding consecutive 6-over 78s on the weekend, which were his worst scores at the Masters.

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, arrived at the practice range Sunday around 3 p.m. ET and hit balls for about 30 minutes. It will be his 25th start in the Masters.

Woods played in just three events last season; he withdrew after 54 holes at the PGA Championship because of pain in his surgically repaired right leg and back, and he missed the cut at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July.

Woods has repeatedly said he would play only in the majors and maybe one or two other tournaments going forward.

“Here’s the deal: Like I told you guys last year, I’m not going to play any more than probably the majors and maybe a couple more,” Woods said at the Genesis Invitational. “That’s it, that’s all my body will allow me to do. My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is, I just can’t. That’s just going to be my future.

“So my intent last year was to play in all four majors; I got three of the four. Hopefully this year I can get all four and maybe sprinkle in a few here and there. But that’s it for the rest of my career. I know that and I understand that. That’s just my reality.”

Woods is scheduled to speak to reporters during a news conference Tuesday.