Tiger Woods was spotted prowling around Augusta National on Saturday with longtime PGA Tour buddy Justin Thomas and club chairman Fred Ridley. The 15-time major champion is yet to publicly confirm his status for The Masters, which begins on April 11.
The X tracker account @TWLegion first reported Tiger's appearance at Augusta. His group was confirmed by Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig. Flight trackers were on the case.
Tiger's name is listed in the 2024 field on the tournament's website. As a past champion (five times over), Tiger does have to declare his intent to play until the Friday before the tournament. Tiger has made 25 Masters starts.
Woods withdrew from the 2023 Masters in the third round with plantar fascitis. Since then, he's undergone ankle fusion surgery, participated in two non-tour events in the fall, and withdrew from his lone start of the season, at his host tournament, the Genesis Invitational in February.
The 48-year-old's last completed PGA Tour event was the '23 Genesis. He finished 1-under, tied for 45th. Tiger shot one-over 72 on Thursday but experienced back spasms at the end of his round. He was forced to WD the next day with flu-like symptoms.
In December, Tiger said his ideal plan for 2024 was to play about a “tournament a month” and the four majors. He did not participate in the 50th edition of the PGA Tour's crown jewel event, The Players Championship earlier this month. The week prior, he skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill — a Signature Event he's won eight times.
Woods did play a Pro-Member at the Seminole Golf Club in early March. (Tiger and PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh finished T33).
Tiger has stayed busy off the course. He was named vice president of PGA Tour Enterprises. TGL, the tech-driven golf league fronted by Woods and Rory McIlroy, unveiled its inaugural schedule.
Last Monday, Tiger hosted LIV Golf head Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and others in the Bahamas for a meeting on the future of golf. Tiger reportedly golfed with Al-Rumayyan at the Albany course that hosts his event, the Hero World Challenge.
Woods owns five green jackets, the last one coming in legendary fashion in 2019. Woods is tied with Sam Snead for the most wins in PGA Tour history (82). Tiger has appeared in four of the past five Masters, despite the hilliness of the terrain.
In February, Woods launched his new clothing and apparel brand, Sun Day Red — in partnership with TaylorMade – after his 25-year collaboration with Nike ended.
Tiger has made six PGA Tour starts since his 2021 car accident. He's made four cuts but has completed 72 holes twice.
Of course, Tiger knows Augusta better than anybody, and no course rewards guile and experience more. At the moment, Woods has 160-1 odds to win The MAsters, per FanDuel (as does Phil Mickelson, who somehow finished runner-up in 2023).
Tiger (71.1) and Phil (71.3) — a three-time winner — own the two lowest per-round scoring averages in the history of The Masters.
The PGA Championship starts on May 19, the U.S. Open on June 10, and the Open Championship on July 15.