Tiger Woods has been dealt a cruel blow to his Masters hopes this weekend as bad weather has hit Augusta at the worst possible time.
With the first major of the year upon us and five-time Masters champion Woods in the field, exciting has been ramping up all week.
But thunderstorms, heavy rain and gusty winds in Georgia have forced tournament chiefs to put back the first round tee times.
While the worst of the weather has missed Augusta, the showpiece event has had to delay action by two-and-a-half hours which will have plenty of knock on affects.
And it’s a bitter blow to Woods.
The 48-year-old, who has struggled with back and knee issues for several years now, will get his first round underway at 3:54pm local time.
With sunset in Augusta at 7:56pm on Thursday, it means Woods won’t get his opening round finished.
At most, the 15-time major winner will likely be able to complete 12 holes.
That will leave him with 24 holes to play on Friday over the notoriously hilly golf course. Should there be more delays or slow play, that number could easily increase.
That will put a huge strain on Woods’ fragile body.
Woods was forced to withdraw from the Masters last year due to his injury problems while he also pulled out of the Genesis early in February.
While Woods said earlier this week that he believes he can still win the Masters again, he will also be eyeing the record for the most consecutive cuts made.
He equalled that record by making the weekend last year before withdrawing and joined Fred Couples and Gary Player in the record books with 23 straight cuts made.
He would love to make it 24 this week and take the record outright but the adverse weather and his bad draw has left him with an uphill task.
At Tuesday’s press-conference, Woods insisted he can win a sixth Green Jacket, despite detailing the pain he faces on the vast majority of shots at Augusta National.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” Woods said, adding with a smile: “Do I need to describe that any more than that, or are we good?”
On his current physical condition, Woods conceded: “Every shot that’s not on a tee box is a challenge.
“The ankle doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s fused. It’s not going anywhere. So that’s fine. It’s other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it.
“The back, the knee, other parts of the body have to take the load of it and just the endurance capability of walking a long time and being on my feet for a long time is an issue.
“Things just flare up. The training that we have to do at home, it changes from a day-to-day basis. Some days I just feel really good and other days not so much. I hurt every day.”
News Summary:
- Tiger Woods’ hopes of achieving Masters cut record severely dented as bad weather could see him forced to complete 24 holes on Friday
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