AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters brings collectively the perfect within the recreation of golf. However even the world’s greatest stand in awe of Tiger Woods.
Will Zalatoris, one yr to the day faraway from surgical procedure that sidelined him for the whole thing of the 2023 main season, teed it up alongside Woods for a follow spherical Monday and got here away impressed.
“He performed nice right this moment,” Zalatoris mentioned. “He outdrove me a pair instances, so there was some chirping happening.”
Woods has gained 5 inexperienced jackets, however this yr, success would include a barely decrease stage of accomplishment: a record-setting twenty fourth straight made lower at Augusta. Woods has made simply eight begins since his February 2021 automobile crash that severely broken his proper leg and ankle.
Final April, Woods made the lower on the Masters however withdrew early within the third spherical amid chilly, driving rain. This season, he’s solely performed 24 holes, withdrawing within the second spherical of the Genesis Invitational with flu signs.
However Woods at all times manages to seek out one thing inside himself at Augusta Nationwide, and maybe Zalatoris — who’s recovering from a microdiscectomy much like the one Woods underwent a number of years in the past — bought a detailed have a look at that Monday.
“He seems to be nice. He’s transferring in addition to he might be,” Zalatoris mentioned. “With all the pieces he’s gone via, it’s fairly superb to see how good he’s swinging it.” Granted, that’s some fairly closely conditioned reward. However contemplating how properly Woods has carried out at Augusta Nationwide — from his 12-stroke victory in 1997 to his miraculous closing (?) victory in 2019 — he’s at all times going to attract consideration.
“You could possibly simply sit there and analyze the identical stats for his total profession and put him in 5 totally different buckets,” Zalatoris mentioned, “and each one among them is rarely going to be damaged.”
The Masters begins Thursday, and each Woods and Zalatoris will likely be seeking to put a misplaced 2023 behind them.
“It’s onerous to say that I can admire this place any extra,” Zalatoris mentioned. “I’m fairly fortunate to be right here.”
