Just two years ago, Tiger Woods returned to the top of golf after a decade of injuries, scandal and poor play dominated his career. Woods then came storming back and won the 2019 Masters Tournament, his first major in 11 years.
It was a “return to glory” few saw coming. While Woods has missed the Masters before, his fellow competitors say this time feels different.
Woods is recovering from an automobile accident that forced crews to extricate him from his car. On Wednesday, it was revealed the 47-year-old was speeding at nearly 40 mph over the limit.
On Thursday, the Masters will get underway without Woods.
Former champions gathered this week without Woods present as he continues to recover from the wreck.
“ I mean, I think there's -- at least for me, it's a growing bond with everyone who's there each year, and the guys who don't make it, you miss their presence, and Tiger is one of the biggest of them all,” former champion Adam Scott said. “You see Jack (Nicklaus) up there, and he's kind of like the ultimate champion here, but Tiger is also right there with five Masters.”
Rory McIlroy said he was among a group of golfers who recently visited Woods.
“ It was good to see him. It was good to see him in decent spirits and actually not as, you know -- like when you hear of these things and you look at the car and you see the crash, it's like, you think he's going to be in a hospital bed for six months. But he was actually doing better than that,” McIlroy said.
