The Masters: Tiger Woods Still Believes He Can Compete for Sixth Augusta Win | Golf news

“Do I hope to compete? Yes, I do. It can be done. This is a golf course where having an understanding of how to play and where to miss and how to hit shots around here really helps.”

Tiger Woods is bidding to match Jack Nicklaus’ six Masters victories

Tiger Woods does not plan to become a ceremonial golfer anytime soon after stating that he “looks forward to competing” every time he plays in the Masters.

Woods has enjoyed nearly 19 months as the reigning champion after winning a remarkable 15th major title at Augusta National last April, a victory that continues to give him “chills” and memories that clearly still move him.

Now approaching his 45th birthday later this year, Woods admitted that tackling Augusta’s length is significantly more difficult than it was in his prime, but believes the experience is as important an asset as he seeks to get closer to Jack. Nicklaus. important record of 18.

Woods still gets emotional when he reflects on his win last year

“Do I hope to compete? Yes, I do,” said Woods, who is using the likes of Nicklaus, Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer for inspiration. “Look at Freddie and Bernhard, they’re in their 60s and they seem to be competing. Jack raced here when he was, what, 58?

“It can be done. This is a golf course where having an understanding of how to play and where to go wrong and how to take the shots around here helps. The golf course keeps getting longer and gets a little more” difficult as I got older and didn’t get that far.

“When I first came here, there were a lot of drivers and a lot of wedges. Now it’s a bit different and I’m putting longer clubs into the holes, but understanding how to play definitely helps.”

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“That’s one of the reasons you see past champions, like I mentioned Freddie and Bernhard, to be able to compete so late in their careers, and hopefully I’ll be one of those guys.”

Woods is trying to emulate as much as possible from his preparation to his memorable win last year, repeating several of his returns while wary of the importance of staying as cool as possible.

“I was working on some of the things that I was working on last year before the event, being able to get a big draw,” he added. “My body feels better than last year, so it was a little easier to hit those shots.

2:23

Tiger Woods reflects on how the game has changed since his first Masters victory in 1997 and praises Bryson DeChambeau for his development.

“You know, hopefully this year I’ll be as consistent as I was last year. You know, last year, I was able to hit a lot of really good iron shots and I did really well, I had a great feeling for the veggies.

“Today, I worked a little on the greens, like I did last year. I took Tuesday off and didn’t play, so I tried to get familiar with the greens, and they were a little slower than I expected, but you know, with the coming rains and the forecast, you never know.

“That is one of the interesting things about trying to solve this tournament from Wednesday to Thursday, this golf course changes a lot and what the committee does. Hopefully it has the same feeling as last year and brings it all together.”

Woods is being cautious with his preparation

Woods begins his defense alongside Open champion Shane Lowry and last year’s American amateur winner Andy Ogletree, the trio that starts in the 10th at 7:55 a.m. Thursday morning and marks the first time Woods has started a round. at the Masters in the back-nine.

“It’s never been done before,” said Woods, who was in the final group from the first when a two-tee start was implemented on the final day due to the threat of storms last year. “I think when Jack finished in his last Masters, he had to hit the first shot at 10 and ended up going up nine.

“You know, this whole year has been very different for all of us. For us to have this event, it didn’t seem like we were going to get this opportunity. The fact that we had the opportunity to be able to play; the fact that we came out of two tees , I think it is irrelevant.

“The fact that we have the opportunity to be able to play and compete for the Masters again is an incredible opportunity.”