The 2024 Masters Tournament will draw the best players in the world to Augusta National. One name that surely stands out is Tiger Woods.

Why? Well, because his story is not only of his unmatched talent but also of his personal hardships. Having won the tournament five times, he sure will be eyeing it for the sixth time, but a horrific personal record might just become a hazard in doing so.

In the 2024 field, Tiger Woods is the golfer who has had the most injuries. The golfer has had several injuries throughout his golf career that would have ended lesser careers, but Woods still persevered to be one of the best in the game. Will these wounds, nevertheless, spell doom for him at the ANGC, it remains to be seen!

A timeline of Tiger Woods and the injuries he has endured

The history of Tiger Woods injuries started in 1994, before he turned pro. He had two benign tumors, and scar tissue was removed from his left knee. In 2002, he underwent surgery to remove a benign cyst from his left knee and had fluid drained from around one of his ligaments. Four years later, Woods suffered an injured muscle in his left shoulder blade. In 2007, he ruptured his ACL while running at home, and in 2008, he had arthroscopic knee surgery to clean out cartilage and also got his ACL repaired.

In 2010, Woods revealed that he tore his right Achilles tendon in 2008, and it has been troubling him since then. The same year, it came to light that Woods had an inflamed facet joint in his neck. In 2011, he endured a Grade 1 mild MCL sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon at ANGC. The same year, he revealed that “everything started getting tight,” citing the pain. In 2012, the golfer hurt his left Achilles tendon. Who knew that after the troubling journey of his knee and neck injuries, 2014 would mark the painful and prolonged journey of back pain?

In 2014, he withdrew from the Honda Classic because of back issues, and his back spasms continued. To help himself, he underwent a microdiscectomy for a pinched nerve in 2014 and 2015. An attempt at a comeback was made in 2017. But during the Dubai Desert Classic, back spasms returned like a bad dream, forcing him to withdraw. At forty-two, a third back surgery turned into a last-ditch effort to discover a remedy.

via Reuters

After an injury-free 2018, Woods’ 2019 Masters triumph was hailed as the “return of the king” and one of sport’s “greatest ever comebacks.” February 2021 marked the real tipping point in his career. He suffered severe damage to his entire right leg in a near-fatal car accident that required major surgery. He suffered open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones in the leg. A rod was inserted into the tibia, and screws and pins were inserted to stabilize the golfer’s foot and ankle.

Woods made amazing progress and was soon ready to come back into the game. He entered the PGA Championship and the Masters in 2022, but he had to withdraw from both events because of physical restrictions. At the 2023 Masters, he made the cut, but on Saturday, he withdrew, citing unbearable plantar fasciitis pain. In April 2023, he went under the knife again to fix this problem. The most recent time Woods pulled out of a tournament was the Genesis Invitational in February 2024, citing Influenza, but during the first round, he complained about recurring back spasms.

Although the 15-time major champion is the most injured player on the field, it also means that he has also endured a lot of pain and has always bounced back. His record at the Masters is a testament to GOAT’s legacy!

Tiger Woods’s exceptional record at the Masters

2024 will mark Woods’s 26th appearance at Augusta National. As of now, Woods is the youngest player to win the Green Jacket. A tie between him, Gary Player, and Fred Couples for the most straight tournament cuts (a total of 23) highlights Woods’ consistency beyond his wins and highlights his lasting excellence at the Masters.

In his 25 appearances so far, he has played in 96 rounds and made 24 cuts. His low round at Augusta goes as low as 65, and a total of 51 rounds were shot below par. His scoring average of 71.10 demonstrates his adept handling of Augusta National’s difficult layout. The only golfer who at the moment has more wins than Woods in the Masters in the Golden Bear is Jack Nicklaus.

With his legacy, Woods has left an enduring impression on both the Masters and the game of golf as a whole. While his chances of winning remain to be seen, his presence at Augusta National is a story of resilience in the face of adversity. We can only wait and see what this master holds for the GOAT!