AUGUSTA, Ga. — Barring a last-minute change of plans, Tiger Woods is playing in this Masters. The announcement, which came during his Tuesday news conference, sent a jolt through the place long before passing thunderstorms offered up more electricity.
It’s not like the Masters needs more buzz, but Woods’ participation gives it some. But there are also 90 other players vying for a green jacket. On the eve of the 86th playing of the year’s first major at Augusta National, we gathered our experts to dive into the big questions — about Tiger Woods and not.
What is a successful week for Tiger Woods?
Mark Schlabach: I can’t imagine Woods came to Augusta National to play if he didn’t think he could win a sixth green jacket. He said as much Tuesday. But those might be unrealistic expectations after a 17-month layoff. His game seems fine, according to Woods and others who have played with him. But it’s going to come down to endurance and pain tolerance. It’s going to be cooler and windy this weekend. It’s a major victory that he’s even here, but I think Woods truly believes he can compete and possibly put himself into position to contend on the weekend.
Michael Collins: Playing golf this week is a win. Not just for Tiger, but for all us. From happy to being alive, to happy to keep the leg, to happy playing golf with his son, to now … this is all the cherry on top of some very good icing (forget the cake).
Kevin Van Valkenburg: Stay healthy, soak up some much-needed love from the crowd, make some birdies, figure out what is realistic going forward for tournament golf. He has repeatedly made the point that he’s never going to play a full schedule of golf again, so this should be a discovery mission. What does it do to his body to play in a major? What parts of his game are lacking? Is it realistic to think he can just play majors without warm-up events and contend? I’m skeptical he can contend, and suspect even if he does make the cut and get in the mix, he’ll run out of gas on Saturday. But I won’t rule anything out.
Wright Thompson: For those of us watching, just getting around the course is a success. I imagine that’s not what he’s thinking.
Nick Pietruszkiewicz: Actually, that he hears “Fore please, Tiger Woods now driving …” on Thursday morning makes it a successful week. He won’t view it that way. But honestly, being here is more than enough for this to be considered successful. Why? Go take a look at what that car looked like 14 months ago. Playing the Masters, at all, never mind just over a year later, that’s a win. Walking is a win.
Can he win this Masters?
Schlabach: Winning the Masters after a 17-month layoff would be nearly impossible for anyone else, but we’re not talking about everyone else. We’re talking about the greatest golfer of his generation, if not of all time. A PGA Tour caddie told me earlier this week that he wasn’t sure Woods could win after having not played in more than 500 days. The caddie said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Woods finish in the top 10, however, and that it would be potentially the greatest achievement of his career given what he came back from.
Collins: Yes. And we’re all going to write that because everyone is terrified of what we said in 2019. Would any golf reporter be shocked if he missed the cut? Nope. But is anyone going to say “Tiger can’t…?” No one is that stupid when it comes to TW anymore.
Van Valkenburg: It feels ridiculous to write this, but if we get a Masters like 2016 where 5 under wins, I suddenly like his chances to perform another miracle. That we are even entertaining this question a year after his accident is surreal. But, he has won five of these with five different swings. Why not a sixth? I still like his chances at St. Andrews in The Open more, and I respectfully disagree with people who think he’s only here to win. I think his mentality has changed since the accident and he just wants to experience tournament golf again and then build from there. But a tournament where he can shoot 73-71-68-70 to win? Yes, I’m buying that scenario.
Thompson: Yes.
Pietruszkiewicz: Yes. He wouldn’t show up if he didn’t think that. Can he? Well, now, that would be something. But Tiger Woods is not arriving at Augusta National with the mindset of a guy who is OK going 74-70, making the cut on the number and sneaking in a back-door top 20. If he’s here, he thinks he can win. He said it himself on Tuesday. I don’t think he can, but I’ve stopped saying never with this guy a long, long time ago.
What other player, not named Tiger Woods, are you most interested in this week?
Schlabach: Viktor Hovland. He is one of the most talented players in the world at age 24, especially when it comes to driving the ball and iron play. But I’m not sure there has been a player as talented who has struggled so mightily in one area of his game as Hovland does with chipping. If he can somehow figure out how to improve his play around the greens, he might be slipping on a green jacket very soon — maybe even on Sunday.
Collins: Brooks Koepka. Now that he’s finally getting a shot at this place being 100% healthy, I think he can win. That being said, Koepka is also the type of player who could shoot 79 and mentally check out before Friday starts. If he gets off to a good start, the edge of my seat is going to be worn out by Sunday.
Van Valkenburg: Justin Thomas. My perspective on JT has evolved in recent years. I used to think his game didn’t suit the Masters — or any of the courses in The Open rota — that he was best suited for dome conditions. But lately he has shown he possesses so much creativity in his game, I feel like he’s ready to take the next step and regularly contend here. Having Jim “Bones” Mackay on the bag has to help save a few shots. You don’t have to putt great to win a Masters, but you do have to give yourself a ton of chances. I think Thomas can do that.
Thompson: Rory McIlroy, who talks about the work-life balance as articulately as anyone in public life, in a way that mirrors how so many of us who watch golf feel about the topic. But he still needs the Masters for the career grand slam.
Pietruszkiewicz: Bryson DeChambeau. He says he is entering this Masters at 80 percent and cannot go “all-out.” That might actually be a good thing. His swing-for-the-fences approach that was supposed to overpower Augusta National hasn’t worked. He finished T-34 in his first go-round after the body transformation. He opened with 76 a year ago, threw a pair of 75s out there on the weekend and ended the week T-46. Maybe being forced to dial it back again because the hand and hip issues isn’t the worst thing.
Which player, not named Tiger Woods, is facing the most pressure this week?
Schlabach: If Woods plays, I’m not sure anyone else is going to feel that much pressure because every camera and every patron’s eyes will be on Tiger. But McIlroy, for the eighth time, will be trying to complete the career grand slam by winning the Masters. He has come close in the past, but couldn’t get it done on the weekend. There might not be a more introspective golfer than McIlroy, and there are a lot of players who will be pulling for him to get it done.
Collins: Rory McIlroy. How many more realistic shots is he gonna get? Every year it’s someone else who gets the spotlight and affords Rory the chance to be “under the radar” to start the week, and every year he’s done before Sunday even starts (with 2018 being the exception, when he shot 65 on Saturday and finished T-5). While it’s not time to hit the panic button, McIlroy is definitely in the “go-or-get-off-the-pot” time slot.
Van Valkenburg: Bryson DeChambeau. I say this with the acknowledgement that he’s actually facing less pressure this year than the past two Masters he has played in, but I still think if he stinks it up again, the place is only going to get in his head more. The pressure he’s facing is internal as much as external at this point. People love to delight in his failures here, and because he’s extremely online, he can’t seem to tune them out. Calling Augusta National a “par 67” might go down as one of the great own goals of all time.
Thompson: Jordan Spieth. He’s in the unending grinder known only to those stars, whether in sports, music or cinema, who enjoy meteoric success at the beginning of a career. The rest of their lives will always be measured against that younger, more carefree version of themselves.
Pietruszkiewicz: Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen. Why? Because they are playing with Tiger Woods the first two days. Both are strong players with the ability to contend. Oosthuizen finished top three in the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open last year. Niemann won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year; ironically, it was the Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Woods and benefits his foundation. Now, though, they are going to be in the arena with Woods as he returns. A conservative estimate is about 99 percent of the patrons on property will want to get eyes on Woods. While this is most well-behaved audience in sports, there will be movement. There will be buzz. For them, there will be lots of pressure.
What under-the-radar player could make some noise this week?
Schlabach: Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, has made the cut in 18 of 20 starts at Augusta National, earning more than $3.7 million in the process. He hasn’t been much of a factor since 2017, when he tied for ninth. But his form has been good lately, with three top 10s in nine tour starts this season.
Collins: Jason Kokrak. Now that he’s over the big-eyed first-timer syndrome, he understands what needs to be done to win. And just once, it’d be nice for a Cleveland Browns fan to win something.
Van Valkenburg: I picked Brooks Koepka to win, and the reason behind my logic is precisely because it feels like he’s under-the-radar. He’s going to get in the headspace where he’s annoyed by that. He has a good track record at Augusta — particularly if you toss out last year, when he probably shouldn’t have played but was clearly yearning to prove some kind of point about his toughness — and is disciplined enough to win here. It’s easy to forget with all the drama swirling last year during his feud with Bryson, but as soon as he got healthy, he finished T-2, T-4 and T-6 at the last three majors.
Thompson: Louisiana’s own Sam Burns. Just because I want to see Sir Nick Faldo try to eat a tray of crawfish at next year’s Champions Dinner.
Pietruszkiewicz: Spieth. He comes in with a missed cut and two consecutive T-35s. Not great, right? But something happens when he makes the turn off Washington Road and down Magnolia Lane. He has five top-3 or better finishes in eight Masters appearances – and one of those was his blowout win in 2015. Now, if he can just navigate his way past Rae’s Creek in those four swings off the 12th tee, he’ll be in the mix again.