'I Do' - Tiger Woods Believes He Can Win The Masters

Tiger Woods has officially announced that he intends to play in the 2022 Masters, just 14-months after a car accident that nearly ended his career. 

Whilst you might be forgiven for believing Woods' appearance is more ceremonious in nature, the American has other ideas. When asked if he believes he can win, the fifteen-time Major champion responded with two short words that sent shivers down the spine of the golfing world - "I do." 

Woods added: "I can hit it just fine. I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. Walking’s the hard part. This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now given the condition my leg is in it gets a little more difficult. 72 holes is a long road and it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.”

Despite holding just about every record in the history of the game, Woods could not shake his love for competing against the very best in the world: "I love competing, and I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level," he said. "I'm going to, and if I feel like I can still win, I'm going to play. But if I feel like I can't, then you won't see me out here. You guys know me better than that."

"I don't show up to an event unless I think I can win it. So that's the attitude I've had. There will be a day when it won't happen, and I'll know when that is, but physically the challenge this week is I don't have to worry about the ball striking or the game of golf, it's actually just the hills out here. That's going to be the challenge, and it's going to be a challenge of a major marathon."

For those that doubt the American can mount a challenge at Augusta, cast your mind back to 2008 when he beat Rocco Mediate at the US Open whilst playing with two stress fractures and a torn ACL. "I've been in worse situations and won tournaments," he said. And that he has. 

Woods has not featured at a top-level event since he was involved in a car crash in February 2021. Whilst recovering from a fifth back operation at the time of the incident in Los Angeles, Woods suffered 'significant' injuries and required urgent surgery - he later revealed that amputation of his right leg "was on the table."

The American showed that he had made significant headway in his recovery after competing in the PNC Championship with son, Charlie, in December. Woods was permitted to use a cart during the 36-hole event and given the scramble format, was not required to play each shot. 

The 46-year old has won five Masters titles and is three short of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Majors. He enters this week with the opportunity to become the oldest winner in Masters history and it seems he is well fancied to do so after news emerged that he is the most bet on golfer ahead of the tournament.