Will he or won’t he? Can he or can’t he?
The drama runs deep as the Masters Tournament approaches, and, of course, it centers exclusively on Tiger Woods, as it has for a quarter of a century now. That’s normal and expected. Of course the Masters is coming and of course we’re talking about Tiger.
This year, though, it’s actually stunning to be having this conversation. It was little more than 13 months ago that Woods was in that awful car accident. His right leg was shattered. Golf was a distant dream for him at that point. If he could just walk again, that would be a successful recovery, that would be enough. That was the thinking not all that long ago.
Then, earlier this week, Tiger showed up at Augusta National Golf Club and played 18 holes.
What does that mean? Is he in? Or was he just testing out the leg on the hills of Augusta National, trying to gauge what it will take to make a comeback?
So far, anyone who knows isn’t saying. But as long as Tiger doesn’t withdraw, there’s obviously still a chance he will play. What was unthinkable just a few months ago is still probably unlikely, but not impossible.
So let’s explore the idea, even if it ends up not happening: Tiger playing in the 2022 Masters.
What a gift that would be to the Masters, and to the game of golf. Tiger needs golf, but golf has always needed Tiger even more.
With Phil Mickelson sitting in the penalty box for who knows how long, and Tiger out since his accident, men’s golf is struggling to find transcendent personalities who can draw in people other than those who already are hooked, which is mainly white males who play golf.
Tiger is that guy, and has been since he won his first Masters in 1997. Who can bring grandmothers running to their TVs on Sunday afternoon of Masters week? Tiger, Phil — and, to a lesser extent, perhaps Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Am I missing anyone? I don’t think so.
McIlroy was at Augusta National when Tiger played his practice round Tuesday.
“He was there, obviously, and he’s trying to see what he can do,” McIlroy told reporters at this week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. “Obviously no one knows but him if he can make it around and if he believes he can compete.”
But if he somehow can, McIlroy said, “I think for golf and for the Masters tournament and for everyone, to have Tiger there would be phenomenal. I think it just adds to the event. Obviously, it does. Anything Tiger Woods does in the game of golf is heightened whenever he’s there. I mean, it would be awesome for him to be there.”
If Tiger were to be able to play, he changes everything about next week at the Masters. He would turn the usual routine at Augusta National into a spectacle, in a great way. His comeback story would be extraordinary at any age, but Tiger is now 46, which happens to be the same age Jack Nicklaus was when he became the oldest winner of the Masters in 1986. Ah, the symmetry.
Fans will be back in droves at Augusta National as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, meaning this will be the first “normal” Masters since 2019, which was won by, well, you know who, the golfer who isn’t expected to play, but what if he does?
