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Dialuna 4 aPRil 2022

On the prowl? Tiger arriving at Masters, unsure of playing

trophy at the Genesis Invita- won a fifth green jacket after guys and be at a high level,”
tional that he hosts at Riviera, four back surgeries that made Woods said that day.
he crashed his SUV over a him fear he might never walk
median on a suburban coastal again. Addressing the condition
road in Los Angeles and the of his right leg in February,
car tumbled down the side of That he is even contemplat- Woods said it’s “altered” and
a hill. ing playing in this Masters is that “my right leg doesn’t
remarkable in its own right. look like my left, put it that
Doctors said Woods shattered If he can, questions are sure way.”
tibia and fibula bones in his to shift to whether he can
right leg in multiple loca- win. The importance of the prac-
tions. Those were stabilized tice round last week was for
by a rod in the tibia, while a A week before Thanksgiving, Woods to make sure he could
combination of screws and he posted a three-second vid- walk 18 holes on the un-
pins were used to stabilize eo hitting one shot with two dulating terrain of Augusta
additional injuries in the an- words: Making progress. Two National and still be able to
(AP) — A comeback un- regular tour events. It is an kle and foot. weeks later at the Hero World recover in the days that fol-
like any other for Tiger invitation tournament, and Challenge in the Bahamas, a lowed. That he was returning
Woods might start at the players typically notify the Woods said he spent three holiday event Woods hosts, Sunday was a good sign.
Masters. club only if they do not plan months immobilized in a he was on the back end of the
to play. makeshift hospital bed set up range at Albany hitting driv- Can he win again? That
Just over 13 months since in his Florida home. Only ers. would be considered more
Woods damaged his right Tee times are published Tues- then he could start mov- improbable than his last Mas-
leg so badly he said doctors day. ing around on crutches, and The first big surprise came ters victory.
considered amputation, he eventually he was able to two weeks later when he
tweeted he was headed to If Woods decides to play — walk on his own. played the PNC Challenge, Woods has played the Mas-
Augusta National on Sunday he played 18 holes at Augusta a 36-hole scramble on a flat ters 21 times as a pro, and it’s
without yet deciding whether National five days ago — it Woods won the U.S. Open Florida course. Woods was al- the only major where he has
to play. would be his first competi- at Torrey Pines in 2008 with lowed to ride in a cart, a point never missed the cut.
tion against the world’s best a double stress fracture and he made when there were
“I will be heading up to Au- players since Nov. 15, 2020, torn knee ligaments in his left gushing observations about In his last competitive round
gusta today to continue my when the Masters was moved leg. He made it back from a the state of his game. He and at Augusta National, he made
preparation and practice. It to autumn because of the scandal in his personal life to his son finished second when the highest score of his career
will be a game-time deci- pandemic. become No. 1 in the world John Daly and his son birdied -- a 10 on the par-3 12th hole
sion on whether I compete,” again. the last hole. by hitting three balls in Rae’s
Woods wrote. Woods was recovering from Creek -- only to birdie five of
a fifth back surgery in early Nothing was more amaz- “It’s going to take a lot of the last six, including the last
The Masters does not have a 2021 when on Feb. 23, two ing than three years ago at work to get to where I feel four in a row.
firm deadline to commit like days after he presented the Augusta National when he I can complete against these

Thad Matta returning to Butler for 2nd stint as head coach

(AP) — Thad Matta is return- academic coordinator and adminis- three NCAA Tournament appear- NCAA Tournament.
ing to Butler, hired on Sunday to trative assistant at Butler from 1991 ances in three seasons at Xavier. The
coach the Bulldogs almost five to 94 and then-coach Barry Collier’s Musketeers made the 2004 Elite After missing two straight tourneys,
years after he cited his health top assistant for the 1999-2000 sea- Eight in Matta’s last year in charge. Matta announced in June 2017 that
while stepping down at Ohio son. he was stepping down, citing his
State. Matta went 337-123 in 13 seasons at health. He had been troubled for
Matta and his wife, Barb, are But- Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to years by chronic back problems.
The 54-year-old Matta led Butler to a ler graduates. His daughter, Ali, also two Final Fours in nine trips to the
24-8 record and an appearance in the graduated from the school, and his
2001 NCAA Tournament during his daughter, Emily, is pursuing her un-
only season as the head coach at his dergraduate degree at Butler.
alma mater. He then had successful
runs at Xavier and Ohio State. “The success that Thad has achieved
at every one of his programs speaks
Matta spent the 2021-22 season as an for itself,” said Collier, who took over
associate athletic director for basket- as Butler’s athletic director in 2006.
ball administration at Indiana. “He is a championship-caliber coach
and recruiter who brings valuable
Now he’s going back to where it all experience and contagious energy to
started for him. Butler.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to Matta is replacing LaVall Jordan, who
return to Butler and lead our men’s was fired Friday after two straight los-
basketball program,” Matta said in a ing seasons. The Bulldogs were 14-
release. “There is a solid foundation 19 this season and tied for ninth in
in place and I’m confident that But- the Big East at 6-14.
ler will consistently be among the top
programs in the Big East. I can’t wait Butler played in the 2018 NCAA
to attack the work we have in front of Tournament and was expected to
us and to be back on the sidelines at make it back in 2020 before the tour-
Hinkle Fieldhouse.” nament was canceled because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Matta was a two-year starter for But-
ler after transferring from Southern After coaching Butler for the 2000-
Illinois as a sophomore. He was an 2001 season, Matta went 78-23 with