The Masters: Tiger Woods to return from injury and make major comeback at Augusta National | Golf News

Woods has dropped to world No 944 after not playing an official world ranking event since November 2020; watch his latest comeback from injury as live coverage from Augusta National begins on Thursday on Sky Sports Golf

Tiger Woods has confirmed he plans to make his long-awaited return to action at The Masters on Thursday.

Woods has not featured in a top-level event since playing at Augusta National in November 2020, with the former world No 1 unable to compete on the PGA Tour since suffering career-threatening injuries in a serious car crash last February.

The 15-time major champion made an impressive comeback alongside his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship in December but was still non-committal on a return date when discussing his future at the Genesis Invitational in February, saying he “didn’t know” when he would next compete.

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It was all eyes on Woods as he practised at Augusta National on Monday

Woods fuelled speculation about a major return when he went for a practice round at Augusta last week, before returning to Georgia for more time on the course on Sunday, after which he said he would make “a game-time decision” on whether he would compete.

Following further practice time on Monday, the five-time champion announced on Tuesday he is ready to tee it up at The Masters, starting on Thursday live on Sky Sports.

“As of right now I feel like I am going to play,” Woods told the media on Tuesday. “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.”

Tiger’s journey to Masters return

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Rory McIlroy says the game of golf is better when Woods is playing, and having him feature at The Masters would be ‘phenomenal’

Woods described his rehabilitation as the toughest of his career, admitting his initial goal was “just looking forward to getting outside” after being immobile for several months. Woods was initially wheelchair-bound before slowly transitioning to crutches and then walking unaided.

Updates on Woods’ condition were limited for most of 2021 and he was only spotted in public occasionally during his recuperation, wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg, while a three-second clip of him hitting a wedge shot in November sent social media into a frenzy.

Woods admitted to being in pain just sitting down during his press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge the following week, the first time he had addressed the media since the crash, and he opened up about the “dark moments” and “hard work” during his recovery process.

He insisted he was not ready to make a return to PGA Tour golf after his PNC Championship performance in December, when he teamed up with son Charlie to post a runner-up finish.

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The waiting is almost over for the opening men’s major of the year, with extended coverage from Augusta National live on Sky Sports’ dedicated Masters channel

The golfing world is now looking on with interest to see how Woods performs on his latest injury comeback.

Woods’ record at Augusta

This year’s contest is the 25th anniversary of Woods’ maiden major victory, with his 12-shot victory in 1997 remaining the largest winning margin in the history of The Masters.

Woods claimed a two-shot triumph in 2001, seeing him complete the “Tiger Slam” and become the first to hold all four majors concurrently, and he then successfully defended his title a year later to join Jack Nicklaus and Sir Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back winners.

He recovered from seven strokes off the pace after the opening day in 2005 to beat Chris DiMarco in a play-off for a fourth victory, before waiting another 14 years for further Masters glory. Woods’ success in 2019 came 11 years on from his previous major title as he signalled the end of an injury-plagued few years to register a one-shot victory.

Watch The Masters this April exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage throughout tournament week is on Sky Sports Golf, with additional feeds and bonus action during all four rounds available via the red button.