The ManicaPost
Tiger Woods says it is “crazy” he is playing at this year’s Masters, never mind being considered a favourite, given he could barely sit through last year’s annual champions dinner.
The four-time champion, 42, had back surgery under a year ago but is among an 87-strong field at the 82nd Masters.
“I thought prior to surgery, I’ll have a nice comfortable life but I’ll never swing a club like I used to,” he said.
“But all of a sudden my body and speed and timing are back.”
Woods won the last of his Green Jackets in 2005 and the most recent of his 14 major titles came at the US Open in 2008.
Since then, there have been numerous revelations about his personal life and debilitating injuries to deal with.
He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence when he was found asleep at the wheel of his car a month after having fusion surgery to repair his back in April 2017.
The American, who had five prescription drugs in his system, later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and will spend a year on probation and undergo a diversion programme. Woods is playing in his first major since missing the cut at the US PGA Championship in August 2015.
“For some reason, I don’t have any pain,” he said. “Yes I’m much tighter and I have to work on strength in different ways but I’m hitting speeds I hit in my prime.
“We have worked on what body parts to get stronger, what body parts need to be more limber, and I feel fantastic. It’s just a matter of now going out there and competing and playing and posting numbers.
“The swing numbers are still up and that part is exciting because if I can maintain this I can play for a long time.”
Woods, who is chasing Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories, accepted that planned comebacks in 2015 and 2016 were “in hindsight, a pipe dream”, adding his “back was fried”.
“I tried cortisone shots, epidurals, anything to take away the pain, so I might be able to withstand a week. Nothing worked. My disc was gone.”
“It’s been a tough road. The pain of just sitting there, the amount of times I’ve fallen because my leg didn’t work or had to lay on the ground. Those were dark times. – BBC
