Tiger Woods Reportedly Practicing at Augusta National Ahead of 2022 Masters

Tiger Woods could be keeping the door open for an appearance at the 2022 Masters. 

Meredith Anderson of CBS Augusta confirmed that Woods' plane landed in Augusta, Georgia, on Tuesday. 

Per Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig, Woods will play a practice round at Augusta National Golf Course and "gauge whether he is fit to compete in the Masters next week."

Harig noted Woods was accompanied by his son, Charlie. 

Speculation that Woods could return at the Masters has picked up recently. His name is still included on the players' list on the tournament's official website. 

Speaking to Jim Nantz during CBS' broadcast of the Genesis Invitational last month (h/t Reuters), Woods said he would play on the PGA Tour again but was unable to say when:

"I'd love to tell you that I'll be playing next week, but I don't know when. It's frustrating in that sense, because I've been down this road before with my back when I didn't know when I was going to come back. It's hard, because it's hard not to have goals out there—you know, 'I want to play this event so I can set myself up for that mentally and physically and emotionally.' I don't have any of those dates in my head. I don't know yet."

Woods said prior to the Genesis Invitational (h/t PGATour.com) he would usually need to play six rounds of golf (practice round, pro-am, four competitive rounds), but he was "not able to do that yet."

He suffered multiple injuries to his right leg, including open fractures to the tibia and fibula and injuries to his ankle and foot that required pins and screws to be inserted, in a single-car crash in February 2021. 

In a November interview with Daniel Rapaport of Golf Digest, Woods said there was one point when "it was damn near" 50-50 that his leg would have to be amputated as a result of the injuries. 

Woods also told Rapaport that he would never again be a full-time player on the PGA Tour, but being able to "pick and choose a few events a year" was something that appealed to him. 

The 2020 Masters was Woods' last competitive event. He finished 38th overall with a 72-hole score of one under par. 

This year's Masters will mark the 25th anniversary of Woods' first career major championship victory in 1997. His score of 18 under par was a tournament record until Jordan Spieth tied in 2015. Dustin Johnson broke the record in 2020 (-20). 

The 2022 Masters will be held from April 7-10 at Augusta National Golf Club.