Tiger Woods is the host of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera this week and he faced a wide range of questions during his press conference on Tuesday morning.
Woods has been out of action on the PGA Tour since early last year after undergoing his seventh back surgery.
And while he’s not ready to play competitively again just yet, it was great to see Tiger walking around more freely ahead of his press conference at Riviera ahead of The Genesis Invitational.
Where will Tiger Woods finish if he plays The Masters this year?
Tiger is not ruling it out…
It was back in 1992 when Woods, who was just 16 at the time, made his first ever PGA Tour start at Riviera in what was then known as The Los Angeles Open.
Amazingly, the 50-year-old has never won at Riviera throughout his illustrious career.
Woods was world number one for a total of 683 weeks and he remains the standard-bearer for all of the current stars on the PGA Tour.
He now plays more of a role in the PGA Tour boardroom than he does out on the course. In fact, Woods played a key role in Brooks Koepka’s PGA Tour return last month.
However, his absolute main priority right now will be getting his body to a place where he can compete again.
Tiger Woods responds when asked whether he could play The Masters
Woods was absolutely dominant at Augusta National throughout his career and won five Masters titles during a 22-year period.
However, injuries have prevented him from playing at Augusta regularly over the past decade or so, and he has missed five out of the last 11 editions of The Masters.
He withdrew from The Masters in 2023, finished in 60th place in 2024 and didn’t play in 2025.
So, could he return to Augusta National this year?
Woods was asked during his press conference on Tuesday whether he is ruling out playing in The Masters in April.
“No,“ Tiger responded emphatically.
What an incredibly exciting response for golf fans to hear.
Rest assured, Woods will be working as hard as humanly possible over the next month or so to ensure that he’s ready to not only play at Augusta, but to actually compete.
Tiger Woods gives update on his rehab two months away from The Masters
Woods was asked to provide an update regarding how his rehabilitation from back surgery is going.
He was also asked about his Achilles problem.
“Yeah, the Achilles was not an issue. I can’t dunk a basketball anymore, so don’t have to worry about that,“ Woods admitted.
Who is the biggest winner if Tiger Woods never existed?
“As far as the disc replacement, it’s just sore. It takes time. Willy Z went through it, and it took him a while to come back.
“I’m a little bit older than Willy Z. It’s probably going to take me a little bit longer. My body has been through a lot.
“It’s just one of those things where it’s each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing, I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again.“
So, is Tiger able to hit full shots yet?
“Yeah,” Woods responded.
“I’m able to. Not well every day, but I can hit them.“
It would be fantastic for the game if Tiger Woods returned to The Masters this year.
However, if he does, everyone will need to temper their expectations, given how long he has been away from competitive golf.
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