AUGUSTA, Ga. — As players prepare for this week’s Masters, everyone wants to know about Tiger Woods.
how is he feeling?
how is he playing?
Woods, a five-time Masters champion, has not played since withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational in February with the flu and also missed the Players Championship in March.
He arrived in Augusta on Sunday and walked around, chipping and putting.
On Monday, he played nine holes and Will Zalatoris was on the front row with him.
And early reviews were positive.
“He played great today,” Zalatoris reported. “He passed me a few times so there was a bit of a commotion going on. He’s looking great. He’s moving as well as he can. It’s pretty amazing to see how well he’s swinging.”
Zalatoris missed last year after undergoing similar microdisc back surgery as Woods, but he said Woods helped him during his rehabilitation.
“It’s more like, ‘Hey, how are you feeling? Do you feel this? Do you feel that?'” Zalatoris said.
“The game of patience is really hard. Obviously, he’s been through more than I’ve been through. We have the same surgeon, we’re kind of the same team, and we’re like, ‘How does it feel after all this time? ?” Just have a conversation. How do you feel after all this time?
“I met him at his charity event in October, and we spent some time together at the practice range there, but I was only able to hit (a few) irons. I asked him about my golf swing. We talked a little bit about it. At that time, I was still feeling the aftereffects.”
Woods, who is aiming for a record 24th consecutive Masters appearance, is scheduled to speak to reporters on Tuesday.
