It appears Tiger Woods is still plagued by health concerns before the Masters. The golfer had been out of the game for a long time owing to the accident in 2021 and the subsequent surgeries and had made a comeback to the sport a while back. Now, months after his return and a week before the first major championship, Notah Begay III has much to say about the 48-year-old’s health.
A tweet was shared by TWLEGION on its X handle (formerly known as Twitter) mentioning the insights that the American professional had about Woods. “For the past couple of months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover,” said Begay before pointing out the two main issues, “Can he walk the 72 holes?” and “Can he recover, from one round to the next?” the last of which remains the biggest question for the analyst. That’s not all, he also said, “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have,” all the while alluding to the constraints that the legend has to face.
Meanwhile, commenting on the plan of action that the 15-time major is currently cooking up against the limitations, the 51-year-old said, “He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with.” However, he was unsure of whether it would work out in the end as he expressed uncertainty regarding the same, “I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
Back in February, the 15-time major champ had withdrawn from the Genesis Invitational because of the flu. However, even before the unfortunate decision, Tiger Woods was not in his best form, courtesy of his back. Interestingly, at the par-4 18th on the first day at Riviera, the golfer had shanked the ball leading to many raising concerns regarding his recovery.
“Well, my back was spasming the last couple of holes and it was locking up,” said Mr. T in the post-round interview as he frustratingly recalled, “I came down and it didn’t move and I … shanked it.” Even the professional was visibly bewildered as he added, “It’s been a while, definitely been a while,” while alluding to the shank.
Moreover, Woods was also quizzed on his ankle, which he had shed worrying light on back in December 2023. Meanwhile, he replied, “Foot’s good. Leg’s a little bit sore, things are a little bit sore, but that’s to be expected. That’s nothing.” Although he did brush the uneasiness away, it appears the recent report just before the Masters paints a different picture. But even so, his latest appearance at Augusta and the recently ended Seminole Pro-Member give much expectation to the fans.
The 82-time PGA Tour champ was recently spotted at Augusta National while scouting the golf course ahead of the first major of the year. This attempt to better prepare for the Masters Tournament, especially after his Genesis Invitational WD, sheds a hopeful light on the followers of the 48-year-old.
That’s not all. The 5-time Masters champ’s recent appearance at the Seminole Pro-Member adds to the anticipation. Interestingly, Tiger Woods had played the event without a cart to help him and had finished T33. Although the finish was not as high up on the leaderboard as one could want it to be, the fact that he didn’t use a cart to play the holes does paint a hopeful picture.
Even so, in the end, it is as Begay said, Woods will only be able to know whether his strategies work after he gets out there and figures it out himself. Regardless, many would surely be rooting for the legend of the greens to clinch his 16th major!
