Tiger Woods made his return to competitive action at the TGL final, and golf fans only had one thing in mind when watching.
Every shot he took was viewed through the lens of whether he would be teeing off at The Masters in just a few weeks’ time. Woods said he is eyeing a return to Augusta, but he still isn’t certain whether he’ll be able to play.
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The 15-time major winner is recovering from his seventh back surgery, which he underwent in October last year. Woods has a storied history of back issues, and this is only the latest chapter. As the clock ticks down to The Masters, his participation is thrown into increasing doubt.
After watching his golf swing at TGL, golf analyst Ryan Lavner is doubtful that Woods will be able to endure four days at Augusta National.
Photo by Cliff Hawkins/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images
Ryan Lavner doesn’t think Tiger Woods can play 72 holes at The Masters
Like the rest of us, the Golf Channel’s Lavner watched Woods play in TGL with great interest. And after watching his swing, he has a hard time believing that he can manage four days of walking the undulating fairways of Augusta.
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Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, he said, “I think from a shot quality standpoint you can’t learn absolutely anything.
“So I was only interested, Rex, in the shot data. And the fairway wood shot on number two from 279 yards, he mustered, or at least registered, a 170 mph ball speed. That’s pretty good, hitting the three wood off the turf.
“The stinger driver, 176 mph ball speed, 274 carry with a 44-foot apex. That’s essentially middle of the pack, middle of the road on the PGA Tour in terms of ball speed.
“I still think looking at him, and again, I’m not a swing theorist, but I do have eyes of my own, it’s just brute force at this point, and all upper body strength that he’s generating. 72 holes of competition with that swing, it’s hard to see it.
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“I do suspect we’ll get an answer, at some time, Rex, within the next seven to nine days. I don’t see this dragging out.”
That would be a huge disappointment to us all, but we shouldn’t be surprised after what Woods has been saying about his health in recent weeks.
Tiger Woods wouldn’t commit to Masters decision weeks before the tournament
After nearly every TGL event, Woods has been grilled about his potential to play at The Masters. And every time, the message has been the same. He wants to play, but he doesn’t know if his body will let him.
Speaking after this week’s final, he said, “I’ve been trying. Just this body doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying. I’ve been trying for a while. I’ve had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I’ve had to fight through, and it’s taken some time.
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“But I keep trying. I want to play. I love the tournament. I’ve loved being there since I was 19 years old. It’s meant a lot to me and my family over the years. I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that’s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner.”
As Lavner said, we’re likely to find out very shortly if Woods intends to play, but the signs we have aren’t cause for much hope.
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