LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods is returning to Augusta National Golf Club in early April for the Masters champions dinner.
Woods, a five-time winner of a green jacket, wouldn’t say whether he will compete in the Masters — or even the par-3 tournament — as he continues to recover from right foot and right leg injuries he suffered in a car wreck outside Los Angeles nearly a year ago.
Woods missed the champions dinner in 2021 while recovering from his surgeries.
“A lot has to happen before I start thinking about that,” Woods told CBS Sports on Saturday, during the third round at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, which benefits his foundation.
Woods, who hosts the Genesis Invitational, said earlier in the week that he was frustrated that his recovery is taking longer than he wants. The 15-time major champion says he is chipping, putting and hitting short irons well, but hasn’t been able to do much work with long irons and woods because it would put too much torque and weight on his right leg and foot.
“You guys are really hammering me on this,” Woods told CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo. “I have a lot of work to do. I’ve been working my butt off to even get in this position. Long way to go, but I’m able to hit golf balls. What level can I attain is a question mark.”
Woods, 46, was recovering from his fifth back surgery when he was seriously injured in the car wreck on Feb. 23, 2021. Whenever Woods returns, he says he will probably only play in a handful of events. He has not played on the PGA Tour since the 2020 Masters, which was pushed back to November 2020 because of COVID-19.
“I’ll never play a full schedule but I can pick and choose,” Woods said. “Hopefully it will be good enough. I don’t wanna come out here and just play.”