Tiger Woods and The Masters: Everything You need To know

Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fifteen-time Major champion Tiger Woods is taking part in his 26th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club this week.

Woods is a player who has been getting back into form after a Plantar Fasciitis injury forced him to withdraw from the 2023 Masters after playing seven holes into the third round.

Here is everything you need to know about the 48-year-old is looking to compete at a high level and complete 72 holes at the Masters for the first time since 2022, which was one year after his near-fatal single vehicle accident. That forced him to miss the Masters in 2021.

Related: Masters FAQ: When, where and much more

Is Tiger playing The Masters?

Credit: ALLEN EYESTONE/FOR THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tiger Woods is competing in the Masters 2024. His first-round tee was at 3:54 PM ET on Thursday, April 11.

Did Tiger make the cut at the Masters?

Despite his withdrawals or his absences from the Masters, Woods is looking to make his 24th straight cut at the Masters, which would surpass a tie that includes Gary Player and Fred Couples at the top.

In 2023, Woods made the cut on the number at +3 after shooting 74-73 through the first 36 holes. The year prior, the 1995 low amateur shot a 1-under 71 in the first round before a 2-over 74 to comfortably make the weekend at Augusta.

He had another setback in February when he withdrew in the second round from the Genesis Invitational after contracting the flu as a result of being dehydrated.

Since then, Woods had not played in an event on the PGA Tour schedule, which was opposite to his desired scheduled to play one tournament a month. This meant skipping out on the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he has won eight times, or the Players Championship, which he has won twice.

Throught the preparation and the action over the first two days, Tiger Woods made the cut at 1-over par through 36 holes, which ranked tied for 22nd at the Masters to surpass Player and Couples for a new tournament record on Friday.

Related: Ranking Masters Champions Dinners

How many times has Tiger Woods won the Masters?

Credit: The Augusta Chronicle-USA TODAY NETWORK

Woods has won the Masters five times and every single victory has a story behind it.

In 1997, that was his first professional start at Augusta National after two appearances as an amateur in 1995 and 1996.

Twelve months after recording his only missed cut of his Masters career, Woods became the youngest champion at 21 years old when he shot all four rounds under par, including a 7-under 65 in the third round to defeat Tom Kite by 12 strokes with a score of 18-under 270, which was a tournament record that was matched 19 years later in 2015 and later passed 24 years later in 2020.

Four years later, Woods would find dominance, winning three green jackets from 2001 to 2005, including becoming the third player in Masters history to defend a title, being victorious in 2001 and 2002.

His 2001 victory was marked by winning his fourth straight professional major title to complete the career grand slam after winning the final three majors of 2000, called the “Tiger Slam.” He defeated David Duval and Phil Mickelson by two and three shots, respectively.

The following year, Woods needed steady play, which was fueled by a 6-under 66 in the third round to win by three strokes to join Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only other Masters Champion to hoist the trophy for a second consecutive tournament.

Related: A look at every Masters champion dating back to 1934

His 2005 victory was highlighted by his incredible chip-in on the par-3 16th on Sunday to eventually force a playoff, in which he would birdie the 18th hole to defeat Chris DiMarco in comeback fashion. Beginning the third round, Woods trailed DiMarco by six strokes and closed the gap with seven straight birdies to tie the consecutive birdie record, which began on No. 7.

That victory earned his fourth Masters trophy, joining Arnold Palmer (4) and Jack Nicklaus (6) as the only players in tournament history to put on the green jacket at least four times.

Woods would not be able to find the winner’s circle at Augusta National for another 14 years when he hoisted the trophy against a new generation of golf stars, defeating Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka by one stroke at -13.

The 14-year gap between Masters wins surpassed the previous record of 13 years when Player won in 1961 followed by hoisting the trophy again in 1974.

His victory in 2019 came in memorable fashion to the injury comeback story similar to Ben Hogan winning six major tournaments after his near fatal car accident in 1949, including his two Masters wins in 1951 and 1953.

In addition to Woods’ five wins, he has 14 top 10s, which includes eight top-10 finishes in a nine-year span from 2005 to 2013.

Also read: Where Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan crack the all-time major victories list

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