Tiger Woods "expects to contend" at Augusta as he defends Masters title
Tiger Woods feels as though he's in better physical shape this year as he looks to win major No.16 at The Masters.
Tiger Woods "expects to contend" at The Masters this week, as he defends his title and searches for major title No.16.
The players will tee it up at Augusta National in the month of November for the very first time, which poses a completely new challenge to the field, where we could see some low scores due to the softer ground.
RELATED: The Masters: 10 of the BIGGEST HITTERS lining up at Augusta
Woods overcame the odds in 2019 to win his 15th major in what was one of the greatest moments the sport has ever seen and the 44-year-old expects to be a major contender, despite his age.
"Do I expect to contend? Yes, I do," said Woods."You look at Freddie and Bernhard, they are in their 60s and they seem to contend. Jack contended here when he was, what, 58?
"It can be done. This is a golf course in which having an understanding how to play and where to miss it and how to hit the shots around here, it helps. The golf course keeps getting longer, and it gets a little bit more difficult as I've gotten older and I don't quite hit it as far.
"When I first came here, it was a lot of drivers and a lot of wedges. Now it's a little bit different and I'm hitting longer clubs into the holes, but still understanding how to play it definitely helps.
"That's one of the reasons why you see past champions, like I mentioned Freddie and Bernhard, to be able to contend so late in their careers, and hopefully I'll be one of those guys."
Woods went on to reveal he has been using last year's preperations as he looks to emulate a similar feeling heading into this week's action and he feels as though he is in a better physical condition this time around.
"I was working on a few of the things that I was working on last year coming into the event, being able to hit a high draw," he added. "My body is feeling better than I did last year, so it was a little bit easier to hit those shots.
RELATED: Nick Faldo says he will run naked across Augusta if DeChambeau drives 1st green
"You know, hopefully this year, I'll be as consistent as I was last year. You know, last year, I was able to hit a lot of really good iron shots and I putted great - I had a great feel of the greens.
"Today, I did a little bit of work on the greens, just like I did last year. I took Tuesday off and didn't play, so I tried to get a feel for the greens, and they were a little bit slower than I had expected. But you know, with the rains coming up and the forecast, you just never know.
"That's one of the neat things about trying to figure this tournament out is Wednesday to Thursday, this golf course changes a lot and what the committee does. Hopefully I get the same feel as I did last year and put it all together."
