He's back! Tiger Woods playing in Masters 13 months after horrific auto accident just what golf needs | D'Angelo

The 973rd-ranked golfer in the world is playing the Masters.

And the news could not be better, or come at a better time, for golf.

Jupiter Island's Tiger Woods said Tuesday he plans to play at Augusta National starting Thursday for the 24th time, but the first since a horrific one-car automobile accident 13 months ago that had Tiger believing "I'm lucky to be alive."

Tiger confirmed he would be playing after a full week of Tiger-mania dominated Twitterverse, other social media and even traditional media. He also thinks he can win.

It started when he showed up Tuesday at Augusta a week ago to play 18 holes with his son, Charlie, and biggest fan on the PGA Tour, Jupiter's Justin Thomas. Then on Sunday he kept the drama going by announcing he was returning to play a practice round Monday. "Game-time decision," he typed. No three words have been shared more on social media.

Finally, after the most scrutinized, celebrated 9 practice holes in golf history with Thomas and Fred Couples, Tiger said, "As of right now, I feel like I am going to play."

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To gauge the uproar Tiger teeing it up at Augusta will cause, consider last week he was being tracked like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

Social media was buzzing about a 2005 Gulfstream 5 belonging to Tiger leaving an airport in Stuart Tuesday and touching down at Augusta Regional Airport. Radar Sports tracked the flight and Eureka Earth shot a video of the plane landing.

Space missions have not received as much attention.

Tiger's mission during his two trips to Augusta was to test the strength in his leg as much as his game. Since playing the PNC Championship in Orlando in December with Charlie, and riding in a cart, Tiger has talked more about the challenge of walking a course, not once but possibly five times when you throw in a practice round, in five or six days.

And not all courses are alike. Videos surfacing on social media showing Tiger walking the relatively flat Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, his home course, are one thing.

Trudging up and down the hilly, undulating terrain of Augusta National is another. Hikes like the 90-foot drop on hole No. 2 and the 72-foot climb on No. 8 are common.

Now, do this on a leg in which "amputation was on the table" after suffering open fractures with bones broken in several places ... just 13 months ago.

And at the age of 46.

Saving leg was the priority

Back then, it was not known whether Tiger ever would walk again, let alone play golf. His leg was shattered. Once his life was no longer in danger, the only thing that mattered was saving that leg. Wondering whether he would play golf again wasn't even part of the conversation.

But this is Tiger, and everyone knew there would come a day that question would rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Six weeks ago, at the Genesis Invitational, Tiger said his "golf activity has been very limited" and he had not worked on his long game.

"I'm still working on the walking part ... working on strength and development in that," he said. "It takes time. What's frustrating is it's not at my timetable. I want to be at a certain place, but I'm not. I've just got to continue working. I'm getting better, yes. But as I said, not at the speed and rate that I would like. You add in the age factor, too. You just don't quite heal as fast, which is frustrating."

And six weeks later we say: Welcome back, Tiger.

And this is what golf needs. Apologies to newly minted No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and the other 20-somethings who dominate the top 10. Apologies to multiple major winners such as Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa. Apologies to defending Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, whose title transcended sports in Japan.

PGA Tour needs Tiger back with Phil Mickelson missing

Yes, this is exactly what golf needs. Especially since its second-highest profile player of the last quarter century, Phil Mickelson, is sitting this one out as his career self-destructs.

Tiger, who has not played a PGA Tour event since the 2020 Masters that was pushed to November by the pandemic, has two milestones remaining: an 83rd PGA Tour victory to break a tie with Sam Snead for the most wins and catching Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.

The former was very attainable before the accident, and still may be. Nothing says Tiger cannot turn back the clock for one weekend at, say, Bay Hill or the Memorial, and hoist another trophy.

Jack's record, though, is safe. For a very long time, if not forever. Tiger's historic victory at the 2019 Masters was his 15th major and first in 11 years.

But that's OK. This is not what this week will be about. Nobody believes Tiger has a chance to win the 2022 Masters (sure, the same was said in 2019, but, c'mon, really?) Tiger may not even make the cut, something that's happened just once at Augusta, that being his second start in 1996.

Hall of Famer Ernie Els, a four-time majors winner with two seconds at the Masters, realizes you never say never with Tiger. But also is realistic.

"You can't take him out the picture, he's won it (five) times," he said Monday. "But you got to go with guys in form. It's got to be the normal guys. I go with guys that are in form, guys like Jon Rahm. I'd like to see Dustin Johnson do well. I think Justin Thomas will do well. Local guys."

Rahm is No. 2 in the world and Thomas and Johnson, both living in Jupiter, are seventh and eighth, respectively.

The 2022 Masters will be about an iconic athlete whose comeback story will go down in history among the greatest of all time. There will not be a golf shot more anticipated than Tiger's at his first tee box Thursday.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Tiger's first Masters win. He shot what was then a course record 270 (18-under par) and won by 12 strokes over Tom Kite, a margin that remains the largest in the event's history.

Even with five green jackets hanging in his closet, a trophy room that resembles a museum, a recent induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Tiger Woods walking onto August National Thursday will be something that will be hard to top in his legendary career.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods announcement: Golf star playing Masters at Augusta National