Tranlate this title Augusta, once again without Tiger Woods in spanish

“I feel good physically. I want to play the Masters. I love the tournament and I’ve been there since I was nineteen. It’s meant a lot to me,” Tiger Woods said just a couple of weeks ago. Doubts about his presence at the Masters in Augusta were numerous and well-founded. Last October, the American superstar underwent his seventh back surgery to replace a lumbar disc that had been bothering him.

Since then, one date has been on the minds of all golf fans: April 9, 2026, the start of the year’s premier tournament, the one held at Augusta National. Woods has been asked on numerous occasions in recent months about the possibility of playing in the Masters, and everything seemed set for the American to be one of the leading contenders. He confirmed this with the aforementioned words during the final of the virtual TGL league held at the end of March.

Augusta and Tiger Woods

However, the car accident suffered on the night of Friday, March 27, by the fifteen-time major champion has not only sidelined Woods in Augusta, but also seems to put the spotlight on the short and medium term away from golf for the Florida player, who has announced a break in his career. The player has spoken in recent weeks about wanting to address his issues and has even relinquished the captaincy of the United States team for the 2027 Ryder Cup, a position he was considered a strong favorite to hold.

This means Woods will lead the list of absences at the Masters Tournament in Augusta. Phil Mickelson is another notable absence due to a family matter, but Tiger’s will undoubtedly be the most talked-about this week at the first major of the season. However, despite his illustrious status, Woods’ absence from Augusta National has become somewhat of a recurring theme in recent years.

Tiger Woods’ history at Augusta began in 1995. From then until 2013, he made no fewer than nineteen consecutive appearances in the tournament. But he didn’t just play: he made eighteen cuts (only missing the cut in his second appearance, in 1996), accumulated thirteen top-10 finishes in those nineteen editions, and, above all, won four titles (1997, 2001, 2002, and 2005). It was in 2014 that his problems began.

In that year, Woods was sidelined after the onset of his ordeal with back injuries. On March 31 of that year, he underwent the first of what are now seven surgeries on the area, which prevented him from playing in the tournament a few days later. Finishing seventeenth in 2015, Woods missed two consecutive editions for the first time in 2016 and 2017 due to his prolonged absence from the tournament because of his back injury.

It seemed that everything was falling into place in 2018, the year of his return. He made the cut and began the first of three consecutive appearances. His 2019 title, his fifth career Masters victory, shone brightest, seemingly launching his return to the majors. However, since then, although he managed three seasons of consistent play, his results never reached the desired level.

Woods was again absent in 2021 after undergoing his fifth hip surgery. He returned in the following three years, far from the top of the leaderboard and even unable to finish the 2023 edition. The third round had to be completed on Sunday, but Woods was unable to play due to a recurrence of his plantar fasciitis. After making the cut in 2024, he missed last year’s tournament after rupturing his Achilles tendon weeks before. Now, a year later, he will once again be unable to compete in Augusta.