Would’ve been healthy for Masters this week: Woods

PTI, Apr 10, 2020, 1:36 PM IST

Miami: Tiger Woods says he has recovered “night and day” from a sore back that hindered his preparations for the now-postponed Masters and misses the Augusta National showdown while quarantined.

In an interview released Thursday, April 9 by Woods sponsor GolfTV, the 15-time major champion said that he is cycling more and playing tennis at times to stay fit and his back pain has eased.

“Night and day. I feel a lot better than I did then. I’ve been able to turn a negative into a positive,” Woods said.

“I’ve been able to train a lot. I’ve been able to get my body back to where I think it should be at.”

Woods, who says he would have been ready for the Masters this week, skipped last month’s Players Championship with back pain only to watch it be called off after 18 holes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s hard to unwire those circuits now. I feel a little edgy. I want to get out there. I want to compete,” Woods said.

“I felt really alive and wired and kind of irritable. I didn’t know what was going on. I realized it was Sunday and I was supposed to be flying up. Subconsciously, I had already known I was supposed to be getting ready to go to be playing at the Masters this week. My body was ready to go,” he said

Woods is also able to golf near his home at a course open despite the coronavirus pandemic that has pushed back the Masters to November and kept him and his family isolated at home.

“I’ve been able to play some golf, Medalist is still open here. Every course virtually to the south of us is closed but it remains open so it has been nice to go out there and play and hit golf balls a little bit,  just get some activity and some peace of mind,” Woods said.

Players can’t touch rakes or flagsticks and carts are only for drivers, but the strange thing for the reigning Masters champion is practicing with no event in mind.

“It’s weird practicing with no end goal to get ready for. Hypothetically it could be this. Hypothetically it could be that. It seems like it changes from day to day. Week to week there’s always something new,” he added.