Tiger Woods could not give a definitive answer as to whether he would be fit to play the Masters in April, as he continues his rehabilitation from yet another back surgery.
The 15-time major champion, who won memorably at Augusta two years ago, had a fifth operation on his back days before Christmas – his first procedure since he fused his lower spine in April 2017.
However, speaking late on Sunday to the CBS broadcast during the Genesis Invitational - the American wasn't competing, but the tournament benefits his charity - Woods did little to quell doubts he will be fit and ready to compete for a sixth Green Jacket in six weeks’ time. The Masters takes place April 8-11.
“God, I hope so,” he said. “But I’ve got to get there first. A lot of it is based on my surgeons, my doctors, my therapist and making sure that I do it correctly. This is the only back I have got and I don't know how much more wiggle room is left there.”
Expanding somewhat on his recovery, Woods said: “I’m feeling fine. I’m a little bit stiff. I have one more MRI scheduled so that we’ll see if the annulus [fibrosus] is scarred over finally and see if I can start doing more activities.
“But still in the gym, still doing the mundane stuff that you have to do for rehab, the little things before I can start gravitating towards something a little more.”
Tiger competes with his son
Woods last played at the PNC Challenge in late December, where he competed alongside son Charlie in the father-and-son event. He had a microdiscectomy, a surgical procedure on his lower back, on December 23.
At Riviera to hand out the trophy to eventual winner Max Homa, Woods was asked if he would attempt to play before the Masters, but replied: “I don’t know what the plan is. Right now it’s just to go ahead and get that MRA and see if [the back] is healed and then start progressing.”
Based in Florida, Woods would not have too far to travel to the next few PGA Tour events, with all four staged in the Sunshine State. If fit for the Masters, he would be expected to compete in the Dell Match Play, two weeks before the season’s first major.
Since winning the Masters in 2019 - his first major in 11 years - Woods has played only 17 tournaments, winning the 2019 Zozo Championship and posting three other top-10 finishes. His last PGA Tour event was the postponed Masters in November, when he finished tied-38th. Now 45, Woods is currently ranked 50th in the world.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
