Tiger Woods is confident he can play a full Major Championship season despite struggling through the weekend at the Masters Tournament.
The five-time Masters champion was in fine form over the first two rounds, carding rounds of 73 and 72 in blustery conditions at Augusta National, to become the first player to make 24 consecutive cuts at the first Major Championship of the season.
But that form quickly dipped on Saturday, with Woods singing for a career-worst Major round of 82 before finishing with a 77 on Sunday, leaving him on 16 over par and dead last for those that made the cut.
"It was a good week all around," Woods said after his round.
"I think that coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday.
"Unfortunately, yesterday [Saturday] it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. The way that Tom [Kim, who shot a final-round 66] is playing I thought I had in my system. Unfortunately, I didn't produce it."
It’s no surprise that Woods struggled with his game over the weekend, with the Masters Tournament marking just the fourth time the former World No.1 has managed to complete four rounds in a competitive event since his title defence of the Masters in 2020.
He missed the majority of last season following surgery on his right ankle, which was the latest in a long list of injury problems for Woods, who suffered career-threatening leg and ankle injuries in a car crash in February 2021, just two years after miraculously winning a fifth Masters title after making a comeback from spinal fusion surgery.
After returning to action at the Hero World Challenge last December, Woods stated that he hoped to play once a month in 2024, but that hasn’t sufficed for the 48-year-old, who had to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February before making just his second outing of the year at The Masters.
Despite being off track with his schedule, and his future starts empty on his website, Woods hinted he intends to play the three remaining Major Championship this year.
"This is a golf course I knew going into it, so I'm going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon, but that's kind of the game plan," said Woods, who the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in 2000.
"It's always nice coming back here because I know the golf course, I know how to play it. I can kind of simulate shots. Granted, it's never quite the same as getting out here and doing it.
"Just keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing. Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer."
