Private flight tracking, Medal rumors, never-ending hope – this morning, year-end news about Tiger Woods came as he encountered Augusta National, home of the Masters, for a practice round with almost no one there. see coming. Just over a year after a car crash that nearly claimed the life of a 15-time grand slam winner, Tiger will likely defy it all to get his eleventh next week. Talk about a tradition like no other.
Woods hasn’t played a professional tournament since late 2020, although he did appear with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship in December. Augusta is nothing if not the place of magic. for Tiger Woods – in 2019, after a decades-long drought, he took home the green jacket in an emotional victory.
Returning to such a major tournament after a relatively short recovery period would be ruled out for any other athlete, but Tiger is Tiger. He probably won’t climb Everest again, as he himself said, but to play the subject would be a big win in and of itself. After months of publicly denying that he has any kind of fast time and repeatedly insisting he has a long way to go to rehabilitation, the move is somehow both a pleasant surprise. tasteful and completely predictable.
The issue at this point, however, is whether he will be able to walk the Master’s course for four days in a row after a severe leg injury. He’s allowed to use a golf cart to get around the course at the PNC Championship, but that’s certainly not the norm for a PGA Tour event, let alone a professional one.
However, some people report watched Woods play a medal game in Florida last weekend with track runner Joe LaCava. Greg DuCharme, who worked at Medalist during another of Tiger’s rehabilitation, said on the First Cut podcast that he thinks the hike could be a sign that Woods is gearing up for a comeback. legal again.
Woods is expected to do a round of training at the course today to see how his body will handle Augusta’s physical needs, although in theory he could use one. stroller if approved to do so.
In 2001, Woods’ former teammate at Stanford, Casey Martin, sued the PGA under the Americans with Disabilities Act after he was disqualified from an event for requiring a stroller for mobility due to circulatory disease in right leg is called Klippel- Trénaunay syndrome, which is aggravated by walking long distances. Martin’s case went to the Supreme Court, where they ruled in Martin’s favor, rejecting the PGA Tour’s argument that walking is integral to the game of golf.
Martin’s exemption has only been applied one other time in PGA history, when John Daly was licensed to the 2019 PGA Championship because of a knee problem. Martin, the men’s golf coach at the University of Oregon, had his affected leg amputated in October.
However, even if he does get a trailer license from the PGA, Woods probably won’t take it. In late 2021, Woods denied that he would use a golf cart for a PGA Tour event, speech“No. I won’t, no. No. Not at all. Not for a PGA Tour event, no. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I’ve always been, and if I were, I wouldn’t. If I can’t play at that level, then I can’t play at that level.”
The game of golf isn’t just about Tiger, but about the whole event, even if the Supreme Court disagrees – something anyone who’s watched Tiger over the years can probably expect. His hyper-competitive drive is matched by very few athletes in history, and it looks like he’ll see the use of the trolley as a defense for his comeback, whether it’s is a correct perspective or not.
For Woods, there could be one more hurdle – it takes a mindset to play at this level. Last month, at a tournament that he hosted but did not participate in, he speak, “It’s the competitive nature of how much it costs you mentally, physically, emotionally. I was not prepared for any of that. Take a walk, I can do it. Am I in pain? Yes, but I can do it. ”
Perhaps the last month was spent mentally preparing – we’ll find out soon enough, as the Masters kicks off on April 7.
