Will he or won’t he?
Speculation that Tiger Woods will tee it up in next week’s Masters continues to heat up, particularly after he played 18 holes at Augusta National on Tuesday, according to an ESPN report. He was joined by his son, Charlie, as well as Justin Thomas.
Woods’ agent did not respond to a text message from The Post seeking comment. Others, however, indicated they believe the 15-time major champion will indeed play next week.
“I think he plays,” one source who knows Woods well told The Post. “The cardinal sin would be to be surprised by anything he does. He’s not going to [Augusta] just to be seen.”
Another player, who did not wish to be identified, also believes Woods will try to give it a go.
“I think it’s a possibility; why not test it out [by playing a practice round]?” the player said. “He wouldn’t go out there if he wasn’t serious.”
Early Tuesday morning multiple plane-tracking sites noted that the five-time Masters champion’s jet had traveled from South Florida, where Woods resides, to Augusta, Ga. Those same sites also captured his plane departing early Tuesday evening. There were other signs, too, that he may try to play in the year’s first major.
A video surfaced over the weekend that showed Woods playing at his home course, Medalist, in Hobe Sound, Fla., where he was joined by caddie Joe LaCava. Woods was also listed on the tournament’s entry list last week and his name remained there as of Tuesday evening.
Tiger Woods USA TODAY SportsWoods, 46, hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since sustaining several serious injuries in a single-vehicle crash outside Los Angeles just more than 13 months ago. The accident resulted in multiple surgeries to his right leg, including on his lower leg and ankle.
“He’s gonna tee it up, I think,” former tour pro Colt Knost said on The Drop Zone podcast on Tuesday. “Hearing [his caddie] Joe LaCava’s been down in South Florida, he’s been playing Medalist and walking — I know Joe and Tiger are close, but I don’t see Joe flying down to Florida just to carry his bag and hang out.”
The biggest question surrounding Woods’ decision is whether his surgically repaired right leg can withstand the hilly Augusta National course.
“It’s not a function of his swing,” said one coach. “It’s whether he can handle going up and down the course. You have to be a billy goat to get around there.”
In December, Woods did play the 36-hole PNC Championship — an unofficial tournament in which Woods used a cart — in Orlando with Charlie. Two months later at the Genesis Invitational, he remained noncommittal about his return but did say he had seen significant progress since the PNC.
“I’m a lot stronger than I was then, I’m able to hit more shots,” Woods said at the time. “I can play weekend-warrior golf, that’s easy. But to be able to be out here and play, call it six rounds of golf, a practice round, pro-am, four competitive days, it’s the cumulative effect of all that. I’m not able to do that yet. I’m still working on getting to that point.”
Unlike regular PGA Tour events, there is no deadline for committing to play in the Masters. Woods can wait until next week before making a final decision.
It has also been his M.O. at times to not commit until the last minute. In 2015, when returning from a two-month absence because of a bad back, Woods’ plane was likewise spotted at the Augusta airport leading up to the Masters before he announced on the Friday before tournament week his decision to play. Woods then missed the Masters each of the next two years and both times announced his withdrawal also on the Friday before those tournaments.







