Will Tiger Woods play in the Masters? If he does, ‘it changes everything’

Golf’s version of serendipity — Tiger Woods’ returning to compete and the Masters emerging from two years of pandemic-created change — could unfold over the new few days, and the sports world cannot wait.

What’s not to like?

Tiger, even at age 46, on the prowl in a major championship is always special, and the Masters likewise is forever memorable.

But this scenario is a different sort of magic.

A year ago, after a horrific car crash that left him with leg injuries so serious that doctors discussed amputation, who thought Woods would ever compete again?

Yet, the media frenzy surrounding Woods’ trip this past week to Augusta National Golf Club on what has been dubbed “Tiger Tuesday” injected a jolt of excitement to an event that seldom requires any outside influence to stir the pot of anticipation.

“There’s people tracking his plane yesterday like it’s an SEC coaching search,” ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt said in a conference call with media to preview the network’s Masters coverage.

Woods played the waiting game and did not reveal whether he would tee up on Thursday. But if he does ...

The Masters, of course, requires no embroidery, but the 86th version of the year’s first men’s major championship arrives with a special aura. The tournament will return to traditional operations after the coronavirus outbreak causes two years of change — a November event without fans in 2020 and a limited number of patrons last April.

Treasures often go unappreciated and are taken from granted until they’re gone, and this is a prime example. Both golf’s most influential player today and the sport’s most anticipated tournament are re-emerging to — hopefully — the way they were.

The sports world can rejoice.

If Tiger plays, and most pundits believe he will make his first start since the accident, he will be the story. His endurance will be the biggest question, his experience at Augusta National his strongest weapon.

In previewing the tournament with former major champions Curtis Strange and Andy North, Van Pelt said: “I was texting with a player yesterday and joking if Tiger plays, you guys could play nude and no one would know you were there. I’m kidding, obviously, but ...”

Strange, who won back-to-back U.S. Opens, interjected, “No, you’re not (kidding).”

Indeed, Woods will change the dynamics of the tournament.

“Look, are we going to talk about Scottie Scheffler? Of course, we are. He’s No. 1 in the world,” Van Pelt said. “... (But) if Tiger were to play, how does that change things? Well, it changes everything.

“He’s the singular player in the sport. ... If he plays, that becomes its own lane of coverage. It’s Tiger. We all know what he is and what he represents, and he’s going to try to play after what happened and the car accident. ... It’s not just him playing a tournament; it’s him playing the Masters Tournament.”

Expectations should he play? One pundit wondered which way to wager — that Tiger would miss the cut or that Tiger would finish in the top 20.

“I’m not putting any limits on him if he’s able to play,” Van Pelt said. “... Should a 46-year-old man play on a compromised leg, and let’s not forget a fused back, should he think he could win? Well, no, not reasonably. But it isn’t reasonable that a guy with a fused back in 2019 beat all those guys he beat” in earning his fifth green jacket.

Said North, a two-time U.S. Open champion, “I think that we’re even considering this is amazing.”

Couple that with the return to normalcy in terms of attendance, and that means Augusta National “roars” again will be part of the tournament’s fabric. The 2020 Masters without fans was surreal; at least in ’21, the limited number of spectators put some energy into the competition.

Once more, the Masters will be harbinger of spring. And there will be plenty of story lines. Rory McIlroy again will seek to complete the career grand slam. Scheffler will be looking for his fourth win in six starts. Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and others ... all worthy of attention.

Yet ...

“I think for golf and for the Masters tournament and for everyone, to have Tiger there would be phenomenal,” McIlroy told reporters in an interview prior to the Texas Open. “Anything Tiger Woods does in the game of golf is heightened whenever he’s there. It would be awesome for him to be there.”

Tiger at Augusta National. The Masters returning to its traditional operation.

Serendipity.

Masters TV coverage

▪ Thursday: 3-7:30 pm, ESPN

▪ Friday: 3-7:30 pm, ESPN

▪ Saturday: 3-7 pm, CBS

▪ Sunday: 2-7 pm, CBS

Recent Masters champions

2021 — Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)

2020 — Dustin Johnson (USA)

2019 — Tiger Woods (USA)

2018 — Patrick Reed (USA)

2017 — Sergio Garcia (Spain)

2016 — Danny Willett (UK)

2015 — Jordan Spieth (USA)

2014 — Bubba Watson (USA)

2013 — Adam Scott (Australia)

2012 — Bubba Watson (USA)

2011 — Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)