Masters Tournament Live Updates: Tiger Woods Is Set to Play Again, on a Rebuilt Right Leg

April 7, 2022, 8:46 a.m. ET

Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

Tiger Woods is playing in his 24th Masters Tournament on Thursday, but it’s hard to imagine a first round in the event involving Woods that will be watched with more anticipation.

That’s because another appearance at the tournament never seemed certain after his tumbling, high-speed car crash 14 months ago in suburban Los Angeles. Woods sustained serious injuries to his right leg that required reconstructive surgery, with a rod, screws and pins inserted in his right foot and ankle.

Although Woods regained the ability to swing a golf club after enduring three months confined to a hospital bed and several months of rehabilitation, he dismissed the notion that he would again play regularly on the PGA Tour. As recently as two months ago, he indicated he was not yet ready to play competitively, especially since he said he did not want to return until he could play well enough to win.

And yet, beginning last week, Woods made it plain that his return to the Masters was a possibility when he flew from his home in Florida to Augusta, Ga., to play a practice round with Justin Thomas, his friend and fellow tour pro. Woods’s son, Charlie, also joined the group.

Roughly 10 days later, Woods will tee off in the first round of the 2022 Masters at 10:34 a.m. with Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Joaquin Niemann of Chile. Oosthuizen won the 2015 British Open, and Niemann won this year’s Genesis Invitational, which Woods hosted in Southern California. Thursday will mark the first competitive round on the tour for Woods since the 2020 Masters, which was moved from April to November that year because of the pandemic.

Woods will be seeking his sixth Masters victory, which would tie the career record for Masters titles held by Jack Nicklaus. Should Woods win, it would be his 16th major golf championship, just two shy of Nicklaus’s record 18 major titles.

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