Tiger Woods has won five Masters titles, 15 major victories and has never missed the cut as a professional at Augusta National; watch the former world No 1 back in action this week exclusively live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 10 April 2024 10:48, UK
Tiger Woods insists he can still create more golfing history and claim a record-equalling sixth Masters victory at Augusta National this week.
Woods claimed a 15th major title with a dramatic one-shot win in the 2019 contest, his first in 11 years, although he has played a limited schedule in recent seasons after suffering career-threatening leg and ankle injuries in a car crash in February 2021.
The former world No 1 used The Masters as his competitive return to action in April 2022 but has made only six starts since, with half resulting in mid-tournament withdrawals and only two of the events seeing him complete 72 holes.
Woods withdrew ahead of the final day of last year's contest at Augusta National due to injury and then saw his comeback appearance at February's Genesis Invitational cut short by illness, although he still feels he can add to his major tally.
"If everything comes together, I think I can get one more [major]," Woods said in his pre-tournament press conference. "I still think they [things coming together to win] can. I don't know when that day is, when that day comes, but I still think that I can. I haven't got to that point where I don't think I can't."
Woods had set himself a "tournament a month" target after competing in the Hero World Challenge in December, although has only played once so far in 2024 after sitting out the Florida Swing - including The Players at TPC Sawgrass.
"I wasn't ready to play," Woods explained. "My body wasn't ready. My game wasn't ready. I thought that when I was at Hero [World Challenge], once a month would be a really nice rhythm. It hasn't worked out that way.
"Now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once a month hopefully kicks in.
"The ankle doesn't hurt anymore. It's fused. It's other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it. The back, the knee, other parts of the body have to take the load of it, so it's just the endurance capability of walking and being on my feet for a long time."
Woods played the back nine with Will Zalatoris on Monday before taking on the front nine on Tuesday with regular playing partners Justin Thomas and Fred Couples, while this week's event could see him break Gary Player's record of 23 consecutive cuts made at The Masters.
Speaking about Woods' performance, Zalatoris said: "He played great. He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. So, you know, 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."
Woods has been widely tipped to be Team USA's next Ryder Cup captain, having previously served as a vice-captain in the 2016 contest and also as playing captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup, with the 48-year-old revealing talks are expected next week with the PGA of America about the possibility.
"It's something that Seth [Waugh, chief executive of the PGA of America] and I are going to sit back and talk about it after this event. I said I'm going to be busy for a couple weeks, so let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another jacket, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week."
The possibility of Rory McIlroy finally completing the Grand Slam this week was also discussed, with Woods insisting it is "just a matter of time" for the Northern Irishman to become the first player since him to win all four majors.
"No question, he'll do it at some point," Woods said. "Rory's too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when.
"I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week. You never know. I just think that just, again, the talent that he has, the way he plays the game and the golf course fits his eye, it's just a matter of time."
Wall-to-wall coverage from the tournament begins at 2pm over the first two rounds on Thursday April 11 and Friday April 12, with Featured Group action and regular updates from around the course available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.
There will be lots of extra action throughout all four days via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, along with Sky Q and Sky Glass, providing plenty of bonus feeds and allowing you to follow players' progress through various parts of Augusta's famous layout.
The Masters is upon us and you can watch all the tremendous action and intense drama from Augusta live on Sky Sports, from Thursday 11th April - Sunday 14th April.
Sky Sports Golf will show extended build-up content over the weekend and occasional live updates from the course before the global broadcast window starts at 8pm for the third round and 7pm for the final day, with early action available throughout via the red button.
Who will win The Masters? Watch live from April 11-14 exclusively on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins with Featured Groups on Thursday April 11 from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream The Masters and lots more golf with NOW.
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