Tiger Woods at the Masters: 'Game-time decision' to play

Tiger Woods is still weighing whether to attempt one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history.

Less than 14 months after a catastrophic February 2021 car wreck that nearly cost him his leg, Woods continues to consider whether to play the Masters this week. 

Woods spent time last week walking the steep hills of Augusta National and performed well enough to warrant keeping the door open. 

"I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete," Woods tweeted Sunday morning, while also congratulating Anna Davis, winner of the Augusta National Women's Amateur. 

Woods is not keeping any player out of the Masters by not making his decision. The Masters is invitation-only, meaning that no player is waiting as an alternate for Woods to make his decision. 

Since 1997, Woods has won five green jackets at Augusta, most recently in 2019. He played in the Masters every year from 1995-2013, but then missed three of the next four Masters due to injuries. 

Woods has not played in a PGA Tour event since the 2020 Masters, delayed by COVID-19 to November of that year. In February, Woods was in Los Angeles driving to a film production when his vehicle left the road at a tight turn on a residential street. Woods' SUV flipped and came to rest upside down. Woods was extracted by first responders and sent to a nearby hospital. Months of treatment ensued, with Woods providing only sporadic updates. 

Finally, in December, Woods returned to the golf course, playing alongside son Charlie in a traditional parent-child event. Woods used a cart throughout that event, declining to hit several shots and walking gingerly the longer the rounds went on. 

Woods has returned from circumstances that would have ended other careers before. His unlikely Masters victory in 2019 was the culmination of 11 years of work, rehabilitation of both his body and his image following an array of surgeries and personal scandal. He's indicated that he doesn't expect to ever play a full Tour schedule again, but could continue in a series of occasional appearances.

Augusta National may well be the first of those. 

Augusta National via Getty Images

_____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.