Tiger Woods has decided to stick with his caddie ahead of the playing at The Masters.
It was confirmed on Friday that the 48-year-old, who has not played since the Genesis Open in February, will be competing at Augusta in 2024. Since his horrific car crash car in 2021 in which he sustained serious leg injuries, the American has appeared in just eight tournaments and his world ranking has now dropped to No.950.
But he will begin pursuit of a 16th major and sixth at The Masters on Thursday after he was included on the list of players for the event. He will compete with experienced caddie Lance Bennett by his side, according to Golf Monthly. Woods hired Bennett while at Riviera for the Genesis Open two months ago, and their working relationship will continue at the first golf major of the year.
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The news means this is the first time Woods will have the same caddie at consecutive events since parting ways with Joe LaCava after the 2023 Masters. Commenting on why he appointed Bennet in February, he said: "As far as Lance is concerned, I've had a great relationship with him over the years going back to when he caddied for Kuch and when we played at the Presidents Cup together back in, what, Muirfield Village.
"In all the years that we've been on Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups together and the times I've been able to play with him in the same groups. Very down to earth, very loyal and how he conversated through the years, I've also taken notice of that.
"We've had the same type of feels in how we look at the golf course and how we read putts, they're very similar. I think we're going to be a great team and look forward to the challenge."
Woods started working with Bennett this year (Getty Images)At the 2023 Masters, the 15-time major winner made the cut to equal the record for successive cuts made at the major. This year will mark his 26th appearance at the tournament, but some of those close to him, such as his friend and former Stanford college teammate Notah Begay III, are concerned with how his body will hold up.
“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with. And he’s got some constraints,” Begay told USA Today. “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.
“For the past couple months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover. He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be, 'Can he walk the 72 (holes)?' That’s still up in the air. But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him."
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