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Despite conflict raging in the Middle East and the world feeling the pinch of the resulting oil crisis, even US President Donald Trump weighed on Woods\u2019 fitness on Friday morning Australian time.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Fox News on the phone, Trump tried to play the role of news breaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Tiger, but he won\u2019t be there. Well, he\u2019ll be there, but he won\u2019t be playing in it,\u201d Trump said, when asked who he\u2019d be \u2018rooting\u2019 for at this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
Trump, who perhaps has inside information as Woods is dating his son\u2019s ex-wife, is right that the five-time green jacket winner will be there at Augusta National Golf Club.<\/p>\n
He will certainly be present for Rory McIlroy\u2019s Champions Dinner in the clubhouse on the Tuesday night before the tournament begins.<\/p>\n
But the 50-year-old is also doing his best to prove the US President wrong and make it to the first tee on the Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been trying,\u201d Woods said earlier this week. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis body just doesn\u2019t recover like it was when it was 24, 25. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not trying; I\u2019ve been trying for a while. I\u2019ve had a couple of bad injuries here over the past year, I\u2019ve had to fight through, and it\u2019s taking some time, but I keep trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woods excited fans on Wednesday Australian time with a surprise appearance in the final of TGL – the indoor golf competition created by he and Rory McIlroy that pits the PGA Tour\u2019s best against one another on a simulator.<\/p>\n
But in some ways, his efforts in Jupiter Links\u2019 loss to Los Angeles Golf Club created more questions than answers.<\/p>\n
The media, players and fans alike have been jumping at any clue.<\/p>\n
Woods\u2019 private jet was allegedly spotted at Augusta\u2019s airport earlier this month, sparking rumours online of a pre-Masters practice round to assess how he would fare walking the famous course.<\/p>\n
While The Masters website listed him as playing and his appearance in TGL was largely viewed as a sure fire sign that he is intending to play at Augusta.<\/p>\n
But hitting every third shot for nine holes, which included putts, and not even getting the chance to play two holes of singles because of the lopsided score line, hardly compares to the rigours of a major championship.<\/p>\n
Woods knows that and it is partly why he remained coy when speaking to the media post-match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to play. I love the tournament,\u201d he said of The Masters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve loved being there since I was 19 years old. It\u2019s meant a lot to me and my family over the years. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be there either way with The Loop that\u2019s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has another a week to make his ultimate call.<\/p>\n
Friday 3 April is the final cut off to be on the entry list for the tournament.<\/p>\n
Past champions have the right to play whenever they desire.<\/p>\n
So, even though Woods\u2019 world ranking has plummeted all the way to 3,483rd in the world, he\u2019s in if he wants to play.<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods of the Jupiter Links Golf Club plays his shot from the first tee during final day of TGL golf tournament, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens Fla. (AP Photo\/Reinhold Matay)Source: AP<\/p>\n
Asked if he will leave it to the death knock, Woods again left things open ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, we\u2019ll see how it goes. I\u2019ll be practising and playing at home this week, and keep trying to make progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Woods\u2019 progress indicates that he will be back at some stage soon.<\/p>\n
But after Achilles surgery last year and two back surgeries in the last two years to add to his lengthy history on the operating table, The Masters simply may arrive too soon.<\/p>\n
Ryder Cup star Justin Rose, who competed against Woods in TGL earlier this week, was confident that he would be back soon after he what he showed in the indoor arena in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked impressive. I don\u2019t think he hit a bad shot. The only bad shot he hit was not a bad shot; it was just too good a shot, almost, with a wedge that went too far. But his fairway woods \u2014 everything looked great,\u201d the Englishman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo from a ball-striking point of view \u2014 obviously the putting, missed a short one, that\u2019s the bit that kind of shows if you haven\u2019t been competing, so that can hopefully change for him in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can obviously find some consistency in terms of competing, the short game and the putting and the touch will come back quick. He looked in a good spot, but he\u2019s a legend, isn\u2019t he, so to share the floor with him is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods hits a practice shot from a bunker before the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Reinhold Matay)Source: AP<\/p>\n
But the fitness question simply persists and hangs over Woods\u2019 head like a dark cloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s physically fit enough to walk 72 holes around that golf course right now,\u201d CBS\u2019 Johnson Wagner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, he can, but under tournament conditions and the pressure and what it takes to get his body right, I just don\u2019t see him playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he were to play, I think it would be a miracle if he made the cut. I think there\u2019s a better chance of him withdrawing than there is of him playing 72 holes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woods suffered the indignity of withdrawing from The Masters three years ago due to a foot issue following shattering his ankle in a car accident in 2021.<\/p>\n
He somehow made the cut at Augusta in 2022, but paid the price for months as he withdrew from the PGA Championship, sat out the US Open and missed the cut at St Andrews.<\/p>\n
The problem still lingered when he withdrew in 2023.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Woods played all four majors.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 20: Golf legend Tiger Woods speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during a reception honouring Black History Month in the East Room of the White House on February 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
His 60th place finish at The Masters was the only time he played in the weekend.<\/p>\n
Asked that year if he continues to push when he has achieved just about everything there is to achieve in the sport, apart from catching Jack Nicklaus\u2019 record of 18 major victory, because he still think he can win.<\/p>\n
Woods replied: \u201cI still think that I can.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t got to that point where I don\u2019t think I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Woods does play, the golf world will know that he still has not reached that point.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt he dreams of another fairytale victory like 2019.<\/p>\n
Whether it can happen again, however, remains a mystery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He is back swinging a golf club, but Tiger Woods\u2019 place in next month\u2019s Masters field remains a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[2620,2095,64,2347,11537,63,6935,62094,48073,37104,80454,2490,142612,2057,279032,279033,16271,279042,279036,279039,279043,2755,115157,63839,755,51063,9262,279038,29991,29459,279040,24415,246407,129219,6920,279035,129214,104533,136997,279041,2041,2067,3583,129211,53017,53024,279045,63841,54509,279044,756,11541,5994,85,9244,279037,2614,3601,279034],"class_list":["post-567192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-america","tag-au","tag-august","tag-augusta-national-inc","tag-australia","tag-australian-time","tag-brian-rolapp","tag-car-accident","tag-cbs-corporation","tag-death-knock","tag-donald-trump","tag-entry-list","tag-europe","tag-fairway-woods","tag-fairytale-victory","tag-final-day","tag-finals-golf-tournament","tag-fire-sign","tag-fitness-question","tag-five-time-green","tag-florida","tag-fox-news-channel","tag-future-competition-committee","tag-golf","tag-golf-club","tag-golf-course","tag-golf-legend","tag-golf-tournament","tag-golf-world","tag-indoor-golf-competition","tag-jack-nicklaus","tag-johnson-wagner","tag-jupiter-links-golf-club","tag-justin-rose","tag-lopsided-score-line","tag-los-angeles-golf-club","tag-media-post-match","tag-morning-australian-time","tag-news-breaker","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-palm-beach-gardens","tag-paul-ellis","tag-place-finish","tag-pre-masters-practice","tag-professional-golf","tag-professional-tournament","tag-resulting-oil-crisis","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-royal-troon","tag-scotland","tag-sports","tag-tiger-woods","tag-tournament-conditions","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-washington","tag-world-holds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}