AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It's Masters week, and Tiger Woods is hitting the ball better but feeling worse than he did a year ago. That's the way he told it on Tuesday, anyway, ahead of his 25th Masters appearance.
No. 24 was one of his worst ever, but there was good reason for that. It was the first time Woods had showed up at a professional golf event in 18 months. Against all odds he went out, made the cut and played the weekend. Woods shot 71-74 before closing 78-78 to finish 23 strokes back of eventual champion Scottie Scheffler.
"Last year was kind of -- I didn't know if I was going to play again at that time," said Woods about gutting out 72 holes of play a year ago. "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. 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."
There is cruel irony with Woods these days. Mentally, he's clearly as sharp as ever, and this should be the point in his career where -- like he did in 2019 -- he's beating golfers with his mind. To take it a step further, Woods still has all the shots as well. It's just, well, it's everything else.
"He looks good," said Rory McIlroy of Tiger. "You know, if he didn't have to walk up these hills and have all of that, I'd say he'd be one of the favorites. I mean, he's got all of the shots. It's just that physical limitation of walking 72 holes, especially on a golf course as hilly as this."
Woods agreed.
"I think my game is better than it was last year at this particular time," he said. "I think my endurance is better. But it aches a little bit more than it did last year just because at that particular time when I came back, I really had not pushed it that often. And I had a little window in which I did push it and was able to come back. Fast-forwarding, I didn't really play a whole lot afterwards. Took a little bit to recover from the event.
"I played in February at L.A. and then took a little time off before getting ready for this. You know, I just have to be cognizant of how much I can push it. Like Rory was saying, I can hit a lot of shots but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what it is. I wish it could be easier. I've got three more years where I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred [Couples on the PGA Tour Champions], but until then, no buggy."
So, where does that leave Woods going into this year's event -- one he could win with his swing and his mind but also one he probably won't because his body may not be able to handle four days of Augusta National's terrain?
It's a strange thing for an athlete to still have the capabilities that once allowed him to be the best to ever but also not have the physical capability to unleash them. Perhaps this is because running, jumping and moving quickly are so integral to other sports. Woods' problem is tantamount to a world class billiards player losing his ability to stand up.
Still, if he can endure all the in between, the 96% of the time he's on the course, he can still do the other 4% quite well, perhaps not as well as ever but well enough to perhaps get himself quietly into a bit of contention. So, on one hand, there is not much hope ... but on the other hand ...
"I've gone through so many different scenarios in my head," Woods said. "You know, I don't sleep very well, so going through it and rummaging through the data bank and how to hit shots from each and every place and rehearsing it -- that's the only way that I can compete here.
"I don't have the physical tournaments under my belt. I haven't played that much, no. But if there's any one golf course that I can come back, like I did last year, it's here. Just because I know the golf course."
