TIGER EYE ON A NEW HIGH
Butch: Golf world waits in hope
TIGERWOODS teeing up at the Masters will be an even bigger achievement than his fairytale win in 2019, says his former coach Butch Harmon. And the swing guru claimed Woods, still hoping to return to professional golf this week only 14 months after his near-fatal car crash, will not play unless he believes he can win a recordequalling sixth Green Jacket.
Woods, 46, will also be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his stunning 12-shot Masters triumph in 1997.
He finished tied fourth at the Masters in 2010 in his first event after his sex scandal and then won his 15th Major after an 11-year gap in 2019.
But Harmon (left), who helpedwoods to his first eight Major victories, said just competing again at Augusta National will top the lot. “This guy is amazing,” said the Sky Sports expert.
“And it’s truly amazing the things that he has come back from.
‘‘And if he could pull this one off, even if he doesn’t win – say he plays well, makes the cut – I think it’s probably even bigger than when he came back and won in 2019 because you consider the severity of his car accident.
“It’s amazing he’s still alive, much less that he is able to play.
When we first saw the accident, we were just happy that he lived – but feared he would not be able to walk properly again.
“But he has this tremendous will to survive. I never thought he would win another tournament again, much less another Major.”
Harmon, 78, will be back at Augusta for the first time sincewoods’s 2019 triumph after he commentated from his Lasvegas home for the last two Masters because of Covid-19.
“It is such a special place for me because my dad (Claude) won there in 1948,” he said.
Now the New Yorker reckons Woods, who defended his Masters title in his last appearance on the PGA Tour in November 2020, is going back to Georgia to make more history.
Harmon added: “We have to believe that he thinks he can get it done. Now we’re all on the edge of our seats to find out if even if he’s just gonna play. He’s Tiger Woods. That’s what he does.”
Meanwhile, Rory Mcilroy and Bryson Dechambeau’s Masters preparations were hit as they missed the cut at the Valero Texas Open.
Mcilroy was one over par after a 73, while American Dechambeau was five over after a 76.
England’s Ian Poulter, who was two over, also failed to make the one-under-par cut and also misses the Masters.
Watch The Masters live on Sky Sports and NOW. Coverage from tomorrow until next Sunday is exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf.
Tiger Conservation hope: Read Neil Squires page 12