The unthinkable could happen once again. Against all odds and denying all cassandras (including the writer of this article), Tiger Woods returns to the field to play the Masters, at the Augusta National (Georgia) and why not win his XNUMXth golf major.
Do you really think you can do it? “Yes, I can” Tiger replied to those who asked him the question at the press conference before the tournament.
A little over a year after the terrible car accident in Los Angeles, in February 2021, due to which he risked having his right leg amputated, Woods therefore has a starting tee time of 10,34 (16,34 in Italy) with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
Tiger wants to resurrect in Augusta, where he wrote the history of golf
Will he really play 508 days after his last game? And above all, the five-time Masters champion, will he be able to walk 36 holes on this hilly course, with often uncomfortable feet, between slippery slopes, pine needles or sloping bunkers? And then, if the cut passes (which will reduce the number of participants after the first two days), will he be able to complete the last 36 holes? Despite the special shoes he will be able to wear, these are questions to which, a few months ago, we would have I answered no: a leg that will never be the same again, a brace to support it, a man who, at almost 45 years of age, has a very tried physique, after five back operations, others on his knees and countless other injuries that never we don't even remember anymore.
Yet today we are forced to change our mind and take back the prophecy of a Tiger out of play forever. We probably hadn't reckoned with the champion and with his incredible will of him, the same one that allowed him to win his 15th major right in Augusta, in 2019, when many were already giving him up. Then he spoke of a miracle, of a sporting resurrection like never before. And today? The choice of venue is symbolic, the Masters has always been Tiger's favorite major. He won at the Augusta National on April 13, 1997 at just 21 years old and with that trophy he changed forever the history of golf. Until 1990, in fact, black players weren't even admitted to the club, except as caddies.
Will it happen again? Golf desperately needs its hero, because no one to date has succeeded in supplanting "The Big Cat" in the hearts of fans. No one has his talent, his will, his charisma. As the beautiful documentary on Tiger's life, broadcast on Sky, shows, Woods was predestined, the "universal" child of a father who raised him from an early age to become a champion.
Today it is sincerely difficult to separate credible news, hopes, business and television share. If Tiger starts the game, as announced, half the world will glue itself to the TV, while if there isn't a large part of the public, it will only wake up with the last nine holes of the fourth day, just to see who wins and who loses. All that remains is to wait, hoping that the fairy tale continues.
Tiger Woods returns to the Masters: two Italians are among the 91 big names in the race
Meanwhile, Italy will also be present at the prestigious sporting event, with two great players: Francesco Molinari, 39 years old, career winner of an Open Championship and in contention, with Tiger, to win Augusta in 2019. Guido Migliozzi, 25, making his major label debut.
The Japanese defends the title Hideki Matsuyama, a bit bruised by a neck injury that forced him to withdraw from the Valero Texas Open last week.
Also in contention are the best players in the world, including the top ten in the World Ranking, starting with number one scottie scheffler and to follow Jon Rahm, Collin morikawa, Victor Hovland, Patrick cantlay, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Xander Scheatele.
