Tiger Woods admits just being able to play the Masters again feels like a victory after his horror car accident 14 months ago as he hails the ‘electric atmosphere generated by his return to Augusta
- Tiger Woods made the sensational return to play the Masters on Thursday
- The five-time champion carded a 71 to sit four shots off the clubhouse lead
- Suffering severe leg injuries 14 months ago, he said the return was a victory
- The 46-year-old also praised the reception he received from Augusta’s patrons
Tiger Woods admitted just being able to play the Masters felt like a victory as he enjoyed the ‘electric’ atmosphere generated by his return to Augusta National.
Woods carded an opening 71 to lie just four shots off the clubhouse lead held by Sungjae Im.
Asked if being able to compete was the equivalent to a victory after he suffered severe leg injuries in a car accident 14 months ago, Woods said: ‘Yes.’
Tiger Woods admitted just being able to play the Masters again felt like a victory
Pressed as to why, the 46-year-old added: ‘If you would have seen how my leg looked to where it’s at now, the pictures… some of the guys (fellow players) know.
‘They’ve seen the pictures and they’ve come over to the house and they’ve seen it. To see where I’ve been, to get from there to here, it was no easy task.
‘I’m very lucky to have this opportunity to be able to play, and not only that, to play in the Masters and to have this type of reception.
The five-time winner enjoyed the ‘electric’ atmosphere generated by his return to Augusta
‘I mean, the place was electric. I hadn’t played like this since ’19 when I won because in ’20 we had Covid and we had no one here, and I didn’t play last year. So to have the patrons fully out and to have that type of energy out there was awesome to feel.’
Woods spent three months in a hospital bed following the single-vehicle accident on February 23 last year, when he was found to have been driving at almost twice the legal speed limit and hit a tree at approximately 75mph.
‘People have no idea how hard it’s been,’ he added.
The 46-year-old had to be cut from the wreckage after his runaway SUV smashed into a tree
‘My team does. They’ve worked with me every single day. We haven’t taken a day off since I got out of the bed after those three months.
‘Granted, some days are easier than others. Some days we push it pretty hard, and other days we don’t, but always doing something.’
Asked how he would recover for Friday’s second round, Woods added: ‘Lots of treatments. Lots of ice baths. Just basically freezing myself to death.’
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