'Rusty' Tiger Woods teases LIV Golf Masters showdown on eve of latest comeback

Tiger Woods has revealed he's still struggling to walk 72 holes on the eve of his comeback as he teased the LIV Golf showdown at 87th Masters.

Ben Smith's picture
Tue, 14 Feb 2023
'Rusty' Tiger Woods teases LIV Golf Masters showdown on eve of latest comeback

Tiger Woods admitted he doesn't know how he'll react to seeing the LIV Golf League players when he plays the 87th Masters as he conceded he is still struggling to walk 72 holes on the eve of his comeback. 

Woods, 47, will play in his first event for seven months at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera this week. 

He is playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas over the first two rounds. 

Related: Tiger Woods scouts U.S. Open venue

Speaking before the event, Woods revealed:

  • His recovery has been going well
  • The plantar fasciitis he developed is less of an issue now, his right ankle is causing more of a problem these days
  • He's been practically hitting balls every day and practicing out of his Jupiter home
  • Woods believes "ambassador" Rory McIlroy has had it "tough" in 2022 but he's "been exceptional" in helping the PGA Tour navigate life with a new rival
  • He is playing to win this wek and cannot get "wrap his head around" the idea of turning up to a golf tournament as a ceremonial golfer ever

The funniest moment during Woods' presser came when his phone went off! 

You can watch that hilarious moment here

Woods will rub shoulders with Phil Mickelson in April at Augusta National. 

A number of players have chimed in with what the atmosphere will be like after chairman Fred Ridley announced LIV players who have already qualified wouldn't be banned from competition

How will Woods' demeanour be around the LIV guys? 

Woods said:

"That's a great question because I don't know because I haven't been around them. Some of the players out here have.
"For instance, Rory's in Dubai with some of those players. I don't know, I don't know what that reaction's going to be.
"I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path, but we'll see when all that transpires. That is still a couple months away"

We discussed Woods' latest comeback after another lengthy spell away from the game on our podcast From The Tips

Our Editor Andy Roberts spoke about his concerns for Woods when saying things like he is struggling to walk 72 holes. 

But Andy also reckons "it's written in the stars" that Woods will break the PGA Tour win record and claim his 83rd win. 

Though he thinks it won't come at Riv. 

Watch here: 

But back to the topic at hand...

What about the Masters champions dinner, Tiger? 

Woods said: 

"The champions dinner is going to be obviously something that's talked about. We as a whole need to honour Scottie, Scottie's the winner, it's his dinner.
"So making sure that Scottie gets honoured correctly but also realizing the nature of what has transpired and the people that have left, just where our situations are either legally, emotionally, there's a lot there." 

Watch a clip:

Next page: Tiger Woods schedule 2023