Tiger Woods On Track To Play In Masters 2022 This Week

AUGUSTA, GA — Tiger Woods is back.

The golf legend announced Tuesday he was ending a 17-month hiatus from professional golf as he intends to play in The Masters, which begins Thursday at Augusta National.

Woods has been in intense physical rehab since suffering serious injuries to both legs in a rollover car crash in February 2021. The injuries to his right leg were so severe that doctors raised the possibility of amputation.

Little more than a year later, Woods is again primed for golf's biggest stage.

"I've worked hard. My team has been unbelievable," Woods said. "We've worked hard to get to this point, [to have] an opportunity to walk the grounds, test it out and see if I can do this. ... It's been a tough year. A lot of stuff I've had to deal with, I don't wish on anyone, but here we are — Masters week."

Woods played practice rounds Sunday and Monday and has another round scheduled for Wednesday. He took it easy Tuesday with just a range session before rain closed the course for the day. If everything checks out Wednesday, he will play in the tournament, Woods said.

Woods has a 10:34 a.m. tee time Thursday alongside South African Louis Oosthuizen and Chilean Joaquin Niemann.

He'll be playing through pain, which he said still occurs every day in his right leg, which still has screws and rods holding it together.

With Woods working back to full strength in both legs, four 18-hole rounds in as many days at The Masters will be a daunting task.

"I can hit it just fine. I don't have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint," Woods said. "Walking is the hard part. This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the conditions that my leg is in, it gets even more difficult.

"It's a challenge that I'm up for."

Despite the pain and the prospect of playing his first tournament since the 2020 Masters was held in November 2020, Woods had just two words when a reporter asked him if he thought he could win: "I do."

Woods last won a tournament at the Zozo Championship in September 2020. It's his only win since an impressive and celebrated victory in the 2019 Masters in which he looked like the vintage Tiger Woods who at one point seemed a certainty to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.

Woods sits at 15 major victories, second all-time, and also is tied for the career lead in PGA Tour victories with 82.

Woods' confidence is a large part of the persona he has built both on and off the golf course and has largely fueled his success. It's also fueled several comeback attempts.

He returned from reconstructive knee surgery following perhaps his most famous major — the 2008 U.S. Open win on an ailing left knee. He came back to claim six Tour victories in 2009.

He also came back from the widely publicized implosion of his personal life and divorce from then-wife Elin Nordegren in 2010, returning to the No. 1 ranking in the world in 2013 before a series of back surgeries.

Woods' competitive nature aside, he said he was happy with what he's accomplished in his career and in his latest comeback.

"I think 82 is a pretty good number," Woods said. "And 15 is not too bad, either."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.