Dan Rapaport assesses Tiger Woods’ chances of playing The Masters now after missing TGL season

Woods left the door open when asked about whether a start at Augusta National is out of the question at the Genesis Invitational back in February.

Obviously, it is a special occasion whenever the 50-year-old tees it up. While he is not the player he once was, fans arguably appreciate Woods playing even more at this stage of his career given the punishment his body has taken over the years.

So there has been plenty of debate over whether Woods will play at The Masters next month.

Dan Rapaport discusses whether he thinks Tiger Woods will play at The Masters this year

It will be ominous to some that the 15-time major champion has not played at all in TGL this year. Some will argue that if he is not able to play inside the SoFi Center, then it is going to be too much to ask to expect him to walk Augusta National several times in one week.

However, speaking on Dan on Golf following Woods’ latest comments about his fitness, Dan Rapaport suggested that he is not going to read too much into his lack of action in TGL.

“It’s not like Tiger hasn’t played his first event of the year at The Masters before, he’s done it a number of times before. He would always say in his heyday that he didn’t really want to tee it up unless he could win. ‘I’m only here because I feel like I can win’. I don’t know that’s necessarily the case anymore,” he said.

“I think he wants to play in The Masters because he wants to be a part of something. He’s going to be there for the Champions Dinner anyway. So I still wouldn’t be surprised if he plays in The Masters. The odds are certainly less than – if he had played TGL, it’s like he’s definitely playing in The Masters.

“I’m sort of contradicting myself here. If there is a major where he could contend without any sort of run-up, it is The Masters. Given his history there, given the golf course, you’ve seen older guys compete, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples forever. So much guile, that course is so specific with the questions that it asks. So much local knowledge required. I don’t think that he fancies his chances at Aronimink, I don’t think that he fancies his chances at Shinnecock Hills, I don’t think he fancies his chances going all the way over there for Royal Liverpool with the cold weather. He’s feeling like, ‘if I’m going to put up a decent showing, the one is The Masters’. And I’m sure that’s the one tournament that he has circled on his calendar to actually play.

“Gun to my head, does he play? Probably not. But I still think there’s a chance. I don’t think him not playing TGL means that he’s not going to play The Masters.”

The incredible Masters record Tiger Woods will be wary of losing

Woods has missed The Masters four times since finishing tied for fourth back in 2013. He also withdrew ahead of Sunday’s play back in 2023.

Of course, no-one will forget where they were when Woods won the event for a fifth time back in 2019. But he has not had a top 30 finish at Augusta National since then.

Despite his struggles, Woods still boasts an incredible record at The Masters that he could yet add to.

He has not missed a cut at the event since 1996, months before he turned professional. That means that he has made it to the weekend 24 times in a row, with his 2024 appearance seeing him move ahead of Fred Couples and Gary Player and set the new record.

With winning for a sixth time looking unlikely at this stage, perhaps that streak does come into Woods’ thinking as he weighs up whether he does play this year.