Tiger looking on course to return at the Masters
TIGER WOODS looks certain to be competing next week at the Masters with confirmation he will front the Augusta National media next Tuesday.
If so, it will be the first occasion since 2015 that Woods will tee up on the Georgia golfing gem and on the 20th anniversary of winning by 12 shots the first of four Masters Green Jackets.
Woods has not competed since limping off with a horror score of 77 on day one in January’s Dubai Desert Classic and then withdrawing from the second round in Dubai complaining of back spasms.
There has been no official word from Woods’ management team on him competing in next week’s Masters other than Augusta National
releasing the pre -Masters interview schedule where Woods name appears – but then he has never faced a media conference to say he is not contesting an event.
Former champions Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott, meanwhile, have some simple advice for Danny Willett in dealing with the pressure of defending the Masters.
Willett returns to Augusta having played in 22 events since being fitted with the green jacket, enjoying four top-10s and a best of second place at the Italian Open. This season’s highlight came when he tied for fifth at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
As well as dealing with the extra attention as defending champion, Willett will also host next Tuesday’s Champions Dinner. “My best advice to Danny is just to think that this year will be the first of some 30 to 40 plus years he will be coming back and assured of competing in the Masters,” said Spieth.
“I would say for him to just enjoy everything as much as possible but also keep in mind that he is assured of knowing where he will be in the first week of April each year for as long as he’s physically able to travel to Augusta.”
Scott, who in 2013 became the first Australian to win the tournament, suggested much the same.
“As much as you want to put your head down and focus on the week, it is a very special time in the life of a defending Masters champion, as I discovered a year later in 2014,” said Scott.
“My advice to Danny is just to soak it up as much as he can, even if it means relaxing his practice routine a little bit and enjoying what it’s like being back there at Augusta.”
Suggestions Willett will choose toad in the hole for his main course may leave many guessing what will be served. But not Scott, who played much of his early career on the European Tour.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea it’s a sausage dish in a pastry but then knowing Danny’s from Yorkshire I guess it’s set in a Yorkshire pudding,” said Scott.