Various plane-tracking websites showed a
Gulfstream registered to Woods leaving South Florida at about 9 a.m., and the
twitter handle “Eureka Earth” showed the private jet on the runway at Augusta’s
regional airport.
SI.com’s “Morning Read” cited a source as
saying Woods was at Augusta National with 12-year-old son Charlie. Woods’ agent
at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to a voicemail from The Associated
Press seeking comment.
Woods has not said anything publicly or
even walked in a way that suggested he would be ready to play his first major —
and first PGA Tour event — since the Masters in November 2020.
Speculation began to pick up when Phil
Mickelson was removed from the list of players who plan to compete in the
Masters, which starts April 7. Woods was still on the active invited players
list, and when asked a week ago for guidance on a decision, his agent said it
was too early.
Unlike regular tournaments, players don’t
have a commitment deadline. Woods is a five-time Masters champion who can play
every year. It’s up to him to tell Augusta National whether he will play, and
that can happen all the way up until the start of the tournament.
Woods was seen playing at The Medalist near
his home in Jupiter Island, Florida, over the weekend. He presumably was at
Augusta National to see how his legs could hold up on one of the toughest walks
in golf. The course has elevations on nearly every hole.
He played in December in the PNC
Championship with his son — they finished runner-up — in a 36-hole tournament
in Florida where Woods was able to ride in a cart and the format was a
scramble.
“But to be able to be out here and play,
call it six rounds of golf, a practice round, pro-am, four competitive days,
it’s the cumulative effect of all that. I’m not able to do that yet. I’m still
working on getting to that point,” Woods said six weeks ago at Riviera, where
he was host of the Genesis Invitational.
During an interview on CBS Sports that
weekend, Woods gave no timetable on a return and said he wouldn’t want to show
up just to play.
“I need to feel that I’m confident that I
can beat these guys, and I got to do the legwork at home. It’s on me,” he said.
Woods has been seen moving well but slowly
in his few public appearances, such as at Riviera or three weeks ago when he
was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
His last Masters victory, in 2019, followed
four surgeries on his lower back and was among the most remarkable comebacks in
sports. Later in the year, he won the Zozo Championship in Japan for his 82nd
career PGA Tour title, tying Sam Snead for the all-time record.
He played only nine times during the
pandemic-shortened 2020 season. And then Feb. 23, while recovering from a fifth
back surgery, he drove his SUV over a median and it tumbled down a hillside in
the coastal suburbs of Los Angeles.
Doctors said he shattered tibia and fibula
bones in his right leg in multiple locations. Those were stabilized by a rod in
the tibia. A combination of screws and pins were used to stabilize additional
injuries in the ankle and foot.
Woods has said amputation was discussed at
one point.
Whether he chooses to play at Augusta
National does not affect the field. The Masters is an invitational and does not
have an alternate list.