Tiger Woods Intends to Play in 2022 Masters 'As of Right Now' After Leg Injury Rehab

Tiger Woods said he's trending toward taking part in the 2022 Masters Tournament, which gets underway Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

"As of right now, I feel like I am going to play," Woods told reporters Tuesday. Woods noted he will play nine holes on Wednesday before making his final decision.

The five-time Masters champion hasn't played an official PGA Tour event since November 2020 because of significant leg injuries suffered in a February 2021 car crash.

Woods was asked during Tuesday's press conference whether he felt like he could contend for a sixth Green Jacket this weekend. He provided a simple answer:

That shouldn't come as a surprise, of course. Even at the lowest points of his career, when injuries or swing changes made hitting the fairway with a tee shot a rarity, he never showed up to a tournament without confirming his intention to win.

Woods has carried that mindset to 82 PGA Tour victories, which is tied with Sam Snead for the most in history, and 15 major titles, which ranks second to Jack Nicklaus (18) on the men's all-time list.

In November, the 46-year-old told Henni Koyack of Golf Digest he'd never again play a full-time Tour schedule, but he hoped to make a limited number of appearances each season.

"Pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that," Woods said. "You practice around that, and you gear yourself up for that. I think that's how I'm going to have to play it from now on. It's an unfortunate reality, but it's my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it."

At this point in his career, Woods isn't likely to consistently contend on courses where the Tour's biggest hitters can smash their drives without much punishment from heavy rough, sand or water. When the winning score is well into the minus-20s, he'll struggle to keep pace.

Augusta typically isn't one of those places. It still requires course knowledge, shot-making and timely putting. When the Hall of Famer won at the famed course in 2019, his winning score was minus-13.

That doesn't mean Woods is a lock to find himself near the top of the leaderboard Sunday afternoon. Yet, it's also impossible to rule it out, which is amazing in its own right given everything he's been through over the past 14 months.

Tiger didn't make a full commitment to making his way to the first tee Thursday, so any setback over the next few days could still lead him to withdraw.

But for now, all signs point toward him making his long-awaited return at Augusta.