The 2022 Masters Tournament is rapidly approaching as golf fans around the world begin to turn their calendars to the month of April. The second weekend in April always provides entertaining golf at a stunning venue in Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia. The build up for this tournament is always special, however this year there is an added layer to the anticipation and excitement.
Tiger Woods, the Five-time Masters tournament winner, is still currently a member in this years’ tournament field. There are two reasons why this remains so significant this close to the first round of the tournament: the recovery from the car crash that shattered Woods’s leg 14 months ago, and the recent news of Phil Mickelson pulling his name out of the field.
Tiger has been very skeptical of his potential playing in this years tournament when speaking to the press and the media given his current recovery from his horrific car crash in California 14 months ago. He has revealed in recent months that it was 50/50 at certain times during surgery that the doctors thought they were going to have to amputate the injured leg. For him to be able to walk the fairways at Augusta this year, which is no small feat in any stretch of the imagination, after only 14 months of rehabilitation, it would be the greatest comeback in the game of golf and one of the best in all of sports.
It has come out in recent days that Tiger has been walking as many holes as he can at his home course in Florida in an attempt to try and get ready for Augusta. This has been part of a major “ramp up” to be physically ready for the walk that is Augusta National. Walking will be the biggest test for Woods in this latest comeback to the game of golf. We saw at the PNC Championship in December that he clearly hasn’t forgotten how to hit a golf ball. The question is will he be able to walk consistently for 4 straight days going both uphill and downhill.
What makes the Phil Mickelson news so significant for Tiger is the mere fact that Mickelson pulled his name out of the field. Many assumed that Woods would’ve already pulled his name out given the uncertainties with his leg. However, since his name remains in the field, speculations have begun to mount and excitement is beginning to build in a major way.
This isn’t the greatest determining factor on whether Woods will play this year or not. In the past, Woods has waited as long as one week before the first round begins to pull his name out of the field. Woods’ name is also automatically in the field until he announces that he isn’t playing because he is a past winner of the tournament. All who win this tournament are invited back to play until they retire from golf.
Tiger Woods is not going to force his return to golf. Woods plays to win when he plays. If he truly doesn’t feel like he can go out there and compete with the best players in the world then he won’t play again until he believes that he has reached that point. He also doesn’t want to go out there and embarrassingly miss the cut, or, even worse, re-injure himself in anyway. And while many golf fans eagerly await his return, they too would also say that they don’t want anything to be forced if an injury could be the result of playing so soon.
Only Tiger will know if he is truly ready to tee it up in two weeks time. I guarantee that he doesn’t even know what he’s going to do as of today. Anyone can agree on what he wants to do, which is to play. However, only he will truly know if that is the smart and safe decision for him and for his body. Either way, the speculation and lead up to this years Masters will make it a tournament to remember. And the tournament hasn’t even started yet.
Comments by Trey Dallas