AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National Sunday to prepare for the Masters.
Following the completion of Sunday’s Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, Masters entrants are allowed on the course as well as the tournament’s practice facility. Woods was among the players getting in work late Sunday. Woods reportedly came to Augusta last weekend as well with Justin Thomas to prepare for the tournament.
Woods, 48, is expected to make just his second official start of 2024 following an appearance at the Genesis Invitational, where he serves as tournament host. He played just one round at Riviera, shooting a one-over 72, before withdrawing midway through Friday’s second round due to illness. Woods is also coming off an abbreviated 2023 season, where he made only two appearances before undergoing ankle surgery after the Masters. He has played all four rounds of an official tournament just twice in the last four years.
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Among the changes since Woods’ last Masters appearance is a new apparel endorsement, with Woods brandishing his own line, “Sun Day Red” following a departure from Nike. Following longtime caddie Joe LaCava’s move to Patrick Cantlay, Woods has a new bagman in Lance Bennett, who formerly worked as caddie for Matt Kuchar and more recently looped for Sungjae Im and Davis Riley. Woods and Bennett have worked together before, with the duo making their debut earlier this year at the Genesis.
Woods also enters Augusta with a new bureaucratic station in the game. Following the surprising and shocking framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Woods was added to the tour’s policy board in response to tour membership wanting more transparency with their organization’s governance. Woods was additionally awarded the title of vice chairman of the newly-created, for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises board.
Five of Woods’ 15 major championship wins have come at the Masters, and he has made the cut in his last 25 Augusta National starts. Conversely, given his limited playing appearances over the past few years, Woods acknowledged at last year’s Masters that he’s not sure how many starts he has left.
“Last year was kind of … I didn’t know if I was going to play again at that time,” Woods said, nodding to his return from a 2021 car accident. “For some reason everything kind of came together and I pushed it a little bit and I was able to make the cut, which was nice.
“Yeah, I don’t know how many more I have in me. So just to be able to appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories.”
Woods is scheduled to speak to the media on Tuesday morning.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
