Tiger Woods: “Every shot off the tee is a challenge”

Tiger Woodswinner of fifteen ‘greats’, including five Augusta Masters, was assured this Tuesday “Every shot off the tee is a challenge” for his body, but he said that won’t stop him from competing this week at Augusta National, a tournament that is “part” of his life.

“This tournament means a lot to me and my family, I’ve been playing here for 29 years, it’s part of my life. I hugged my dad when I won my first and in 2019 I hugged my son, I closed the circle.” Woods said in the press conference organized this Tuesday in Augusta.

“On a physical level on some (more problematic) shots, every shot off the ‘tee’ (the first shot of each hole) is a challenge, when we start the hole it’s a challenge,” admitted the American .

At 46 years old, Woods has been living with physical problems for some time as a result of a serious road accident suffered in 2021.

Last April, he underwent surgery for an ankle injury and has struggled to return to competing at the highest level.

After his surgery, in December he finished eighteenth out of twenty at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and in February he withdrew from the Genesis Invitational due to a health problem.

“I’m not ready to play, my body, my game is not ready. When I was at Hero, I thought that competing once a month was a good rhythm, but from now until July we have great ones, now playing that tournament every month, I hope it works,” he said.

“I have a great medical team helping me recover. We work every day, to strengthen myself or recover. “I’m trying to be more focused and make every shot count,” he added.

Despite the struggles, Woods stressed that his love for golf remains intact.

“I love golf, always have. I played other sports, but I always loved golf. I love to compete, it’s one of the reasons I’ve had such a successful career. I love when everything works and you have the option to win, regardless of whether you achieve it or not,” he said.