TIGER WOODS has said he WILL play in this year’s Masters.
The five-time champ said: “As of right now I feel like I’m going to play.”
Woods, 46, drew thousands of spectators on Monday as he played a practice round at Augusta.
More than 50,000 are said to have turned up to watch the 15-time Major winner in action.
The American icon has not played in a Major since his near-fatal car crash in February 2021.
Woods was also asked if he can win the Masters for a sixth time and confidently replied: “I do.”
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He said at a press conference: “It is great to be back and to be able to feel the energy and the excitement again.
“Hopefully we are going to have a great week. I can hit it just fine. I have no qualms what I can do physically from a golf standpoint.”
However, Woods did admit that he still finds long walks difficult.
He said: “Walking is the hard part. 72 holes is a long road. It is a tough challenge and a challenge I am up for.”
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Woods played in December at the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat Florida course where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son.
Woods was allowed to use a cart in that event, and when those rounds were over he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.
On December 19, he said: “I cant compete against these guys right now, no.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where I feel like I can compete at these guys and be at a high level.”
Nearly four months later, and in what will be the 25th anniversary since his first appearance at Augusta, he will play.
It’ll be his 24th appearance at The Masters – he’s finished in the top five 12 times in his previous 23 appearances.
Thursday’s opening round would mark the first time Woods competes against the world’s best players since November 15, 2020 – the final round of that year’s pandemic-delayed Masters.
He had his fifth back surgery two months later and was still recovering from that when he crashed his car and rolled it down the side of a hill on a coastal road just outside of Los Angeles.
Woods’ injuries were so severe that doctors considered amputation before reassembling his right leg by placing a rod in the tibia and using screws and pins to stabilise additional injuries in the ankle and foot.
