04 April 2022: Tiger Woods knows you cannot win the Masters before it begins. But in the still of a sultry Sunday twilight, Woods might have poured the foundation to a game plan that will shape his fate this week.
Though he still hasn’t formally said he will tee it up in a bid to win a sixth Green Jacket, Woods played beautifully along the second nine of Augusta National in a practice session that lasted a little over two hours and never appeared laborious. At 46, Woods would be attempting to take on competitive golf for the first time since he broke his right leg and right ankle in a single-car accident nearly 14 months ago in Los Angeles.
It wasn’t so much that Woods only missed one fairway, hit a flurry of crisp iron shots – most impressively at the par-3 12th, the par-4 17th and par-4 18th – and made a few birdies. It was the time he spent on the part of the game that wins Masters – the little pitch and chip shots just off some of Augusta National’s tricky greens. Woods certainly looked like a competitive golfer in deep study, not one searching for answers.
He played a dozen or so shots left of No. 10 green, at least that many short right of No. 11, and was studious when playing shots from long of the 15th green (which is where he ended up after hitting a fairway metal in).
Having flown up from his home in Florida earlier in the day, Woods arrived at the Tournament Practice Area at 3:20 p.m. on Sunday with his great friend Rob McNamara, who is executive vice president of Tiger Woods Ventures.
Longtime caddie Joe LaCava was waiting, and between renewing acquaintances with PGA Tour colleagues Kevin Na, Max Homa and Billy Horschel – and hitting three or four dozen shots – Woods headed to the 10th tee after about 20 minutes.
There were perhaps three dozen members of the media there, but Woods did not stop and talk. He did, however, make it a memorable day for a pair of Augusta, Ga., residents, Beverly Barksdale and Felicia Harris. They are working as drivers this week, and when Woods walked by, they received a couple of his golf gloves.
On the course is where Woods always feels comfortable, and Augusta National in this setting is perhaps his favorite place. Aaron Jarvis, a likeable young man from the Cayman Islands who won the Latin America Amateur Championship, attempted to hustle up to possibly join Woods, but early on it was clear that the five-time Masters champion was working solo.
Though he missed the green at Nos. 10 and 11, Woods played 12 nicely, reached 13 in two and saw his approach into 14 come up short and roll back some 45 feet into the fairway. It was at the 14th green where Woods seemed to spend more time putting than chipping and pitching.
But by now, Woods had also caught up with young Aussie Cameron Davis, winner of last summer’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, and Woods seemed to relish the role of seasoned veteran showing the Masters rookie where to go and where not to go over the final five holes.
When his first shot was wide left and bunkered at the par-3 16th, Woods for the only time in nine holes hit a second tee shot. He stuffed it to about a foot-and-a-half. That produced the biggest smile of his practice session, though truthfully the entire two-plus hours appeared to be thoroughly enjoyable for him.
He went over in the 11th fairway to greet Chairman Emeritus of Augusta National Golf Club Billy Payne, then on two other occasions Woods reached out to say hello to other Club members he knows.
When the round was completed at 6:07 p.m., Woods shook hands with Davis and wished the rookie well. But it was Davis who seemed to be calling it a day. On the eve of what would be his 24th Masters, Woods still had work to do. He headed to the practice green with LaCava.
Embraced in a solitude he craves at a tournament he covets.
Jim McCabe – Masters.com
