After taking the last few months off to recuperate and prepare for the Masters Tournament, Tiger Woods is entering the event in uncharted territory.
Heading into the Masters, Woods has only competed in one event in 2024, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, where he was forced to withdraw because of influenza in his second round. Since then, Woods has missed The Players, the Valspar Championship, and the Houston Open, among others, as he prepares for the Masters.
In doing so, the golf legend has seen his rank drop to No. 959 on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). However, this is not the first time Woods' ranking has dropped to well below where most fans and players expect the five-time Masters champion to be.
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After an injury-plagued 2023, Woods dropped to No. 1,328 on the OWGR. Still, after finishing the Hero World Challenge in 18th - out of a possible 20th - the 48-year-old moved up to No. 898, still well below where fans are used to seeing the American.
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Despite how low Woods might be ranked, it appears as if the legend still has something left in the tank as he impressed playing partner Will Zalatoris during their morning practice round at Augusta. Of note, the 27-year-old said that because of how Woods played in practice, there was a bit of friendly banter between the two men as they prepared for the tournament.
"He played great today," Zalatoris said. "He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. He looks great. He's moving as well as he can be. With everything he's gone through, it's pretty amazing to see how good he's swinging it."
Tiger Woods has been working to come back to make an impact at The Masters (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)The last few years have been extremely eventful for Woods, on the injury front as it seems like he has been bitten by the injury bug at 48 years old. In 2017, Woods had back surgery and in 2021, the American was in a major car accident that almost destroyed his leg.
Because of the accident, Woods had to get ankle fusion surgery, with the pain "completely gone" as of November 2023. Even though Woods impressed Zalatoris, a security guard at the tournament was less than enthused to report back what they saw from the legendary golfer.
"He looked like he was 48 years old," the security guard told Mirror Sport. "He looked old and slow. I wouldn't be on him."
Additionally, Woods' former coach Butch Harmon believes the toughest challenge for the former will be walking all 72 holes at Augusta. Regardless of how well Woods performs, it will be moot if he cannot walk because of the numerous leg injuries he's had in recent years.
“I think we can expect Tiger’s game to be pretty sharp; he wouldn't play if he didn't think he was," Harmon said. "The problem is, can he walk? That's one of the hardest walking golf courses that we play all year long. It’s very hilly, a lot of side hill lies and uneven lies.
“Now we all know with Tiger you never say never. I can remember back in 2019, everyone asked me if Tiger Woods could ever win the Masters, and I said I doubted it because he hadn’t played, but all you’ve gotta do is tell him he can't do something and he will try and prove you wrong. That’s his mentality, that's one of the reasons he was the best in the world. You know we all love it when he plays; he brings another level of excitement.”
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