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sports Monday 4 april 2022
On the prowl? Tiger arriving at Masters, unsure of playing

By DOUG FERGUSON Woods showed up on the going at least 84 mph in a
AP Golf Writer other end, shaking hands 45 mph zone.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A with defending champion Doctors said Woods shat-
comeback unlike any oth- Hideki Matsuyama. tered tibia and fibula bones
er for Tiger Woods might Kevin Na and Billy Horschel in his right leg in multiple
start at the Masters. were among those who locations. Those were sta-
Just over 13 months since came over to shake hands bilized by a rod in the tib-
Woods damaged his right or hug him. Also on the ia, while a combination of
leg so badly he said doc- range were Sungjae Im, screws and pins were used
tors considered amputa- Mackenzie Hughes and Ja- to stabilize additional inju-
tion, Woods arrived at Au- son Kokrak. Sunday after- ries in the ankle and foot.
gusta National on Sunday noon before Masters week Woods said he spent three
afternoon and warmed up is a quiet time most years. months immobilized in a
on a range where there Just not this one. makeshift hospital bed set
were more photographers Woods was recovering up in his Florida home. Only
than players. from a fifth back surgery then he could start moving Tiger Woods pauses while hitting on the driving range during
Woods hit balls for about when on Feb. 23, 2021, two around on crutches, and practice before the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 3,
20 minutes and then got days after he presented eventually he was able to 2022, in Augusta, Ga.
in a cart and headed to the trophy at the Genesis walk on his own. Associated Press
the course, which is closed Invitational that he hosts at Woods won the U.S. Open in the world again. never walk again.
Sunday afternoon to ev- Riviera, he crashed his SUV at Torrey Pines in 2008 with Nothing was more amaz- That he is even contem-
eryone except players and over a median on a subur- a double stress fracture ing than three years ago at plating playing in this Mas-
caddies. Already a star at- ban coastal road in Los An- and torn knee ligaments in Augusta National when he ters is remarkable in its own
traction, the hype over the geles and down the side of his left leg. He made it back won a fifth green jacket af- right. If he can, questions
five-time Masters champi- a hill. from a scandal in his per- ter four back surgeries that are sure to shift to whether
on is higher than ever after Police estimated he was sonal life to become No. 1 made him fear he might he can win.q
a violent single-car crash
that looked as though it
might end his career.
Still to come is the decision
on playing.
In a tweet Sunday morn-
ing announcing he was
coming to Augusta to re-
sume preparations for the
Masters, he said it will be
a “game-time decision”
whether he competes.
The Masters does not have
a firm deadline to commit
like regular tour events. It is
an invitation tournament,
and players typically notify
the club only if they do not
plan to play.
Tee times are published
Tuesday.
“Knowing Tiger the way I
know him, if he wasn’t to-
tally like ... pretty much feel
he has a chance to win, he
wouldn’t tee it up,” Mark
O’Meara said. “The thing
about Tiger Woods is usu-
ally when everybody thinks
he can’t do something,
that’s when he does it.”
If Woods decides to play
— he played 18 holes at
Augusta National five days
ago — it would be his first
competition against the
world’s best players since
Nov. 15, 2020, when the
Masters was moved to au-
tumn because of the pan-
demic.
Photographers and media
waited at the far end of the
viewing area on the range
near the caddie house to
see when he would arrive.