Tiger Woods has cast doubt on his hopes of competing at the Masters. The 50-year-old golf great made it clear last month he has his eye on being at Augusta International when the major starts on April 9. Woods has endured injury after injury and has previously opened up on the numerous issues with his body.

In March last year, the five-time Masters winner underwent surgery on a ruptured Achilles which forced him to pull out of Augusta. A matter of months later, he went under the knife again to have a lumbar disc replacement, his seventh back operation. Last month, Woods, who has not competed since the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, excited sports fans when he hosted the Genesis Invitational, by replying "no" to one reporter who asked if this year's Masters was "off the table".

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Speaking to the press after the recent TGL semi-finals, the 15-time major winner offered an insight into the work he is doing behind the scenes, when asked if an appearance at Augusta was still a possibility. He replied: "I said I've been working on it.

"Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun. So as I said, I've had a lot of procedures prior to that, so the body doesn't quite heal like it was when I was 24. [It] Doesn't quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it's hard to just to move around."

Woods has not competed at Augusta since 2024, when he placed 60th. While his emphatic response regarding the Masters last month hit the headlines, he has made it clear there is no specific target in mind when it comes to returning to competitive action.

He also revealed he is able to hit full golf shots, even if they are not finding their angles and targets in the same way they did in his prime, but has found the recovery from the lumbar operation difficult. Woods said: "The Achilles is not an issue. I can't dunk a basketball anymore. As far as the disc replacement it's just sore and it takes time. My body has been through a lot.

"It's one of those things, each and every day I keep trying, keep progressing and working on it. I'm trying to get this body at a level where I can play the highest level again. Yeah I'm able to (hit full shots), not well every day, but I can hit them."

Woods has also been contemplating the possibility of becoming Team USA's Ryder Cup captain, with the future of Keegan Bradley uncertain. When asked about the prospect of leading his country out at Adare Manor next year, Woods said: "They have asked me for my input on it, and I haven't made my decision yet. I'm trying to figure out what we're trying to do with our tour.

"That's been driving me hours upon hours every day and trying to figure out if I can actually do our team, our Team USA and our players and everyone that's going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time. Serving on two boards and what I'm doing for the PGA Tour, I'm trying to figure out if I can actually do this and serve the people that are involved and serve them at an honourable level."