Woods confirms participation in Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia — After skipping the Players golf Championship, Tiger Woods has finally confirmed his participation in the field of Masters Golf Tournament in April.

The 48-year-old American has not competed since his season debut at The Genesis Invitational at Riviera last month was cut short due to illness, Reuters reported.

It was the 15-times major champion’s first PGA Tour start since last April’s Masters, the event he withdrew from with an injury shortly before undergoing ankle surgery.

This year’s Masters will be played from April 11-14.

April will mark the 88th edition of The Masters Tournament, where the best golfers in the world will congregate at Augusta National hoping to take home part of the $18 million prize pool and perhaps a coveted green jacket as well.

Of course, doing so is easier said than done. 2023 champion Jon Rahm would love nothing more than to become the first back-to-back winner since Woods in 2001 and 2002.

Woods’s resilience, talent, and enduring impact on the sport have earned him a place among the greatest athletes in modern history. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, his legacy continues to inspire generations of golfers worldwide.

After 13 seasons on the LPGA Tour, including a pair of major victories, South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu announced she will retire from professional golf next month.

Ryu made her announcement in a social media post. “After deciding to retire, I spent much time looking back on my career,” Ryu wrote in a note posted to Instagram.

“So many memories came flooding back, and I felt so many emotions. But the more I thought about it, the more I was thankful for so many things,” she added according to Sky Sports.

“I am so grateful that I could do what I loved to do, day in and day out, and even make a career out of it. I am not going to lie; I had some hard patches, but despite some of the challenges, I truly enjoyed it all.”

Ryu said her final event will be The Chevron Championship from 18-21 April at The Woodlands, Texas.

At the 2011 US Women’s Open, Ryu defeated Hee Kyung Seo in a three-hole aggregate playoff to win her first major title before joining the LPGA in 2012 and being named rookie of the year.

She finished in the top five at the US Women’s Open six times from 2011-19.

Ryu’s second major came at the 2017 ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills, California, by defeating Lexi Thompson in another playoff.

She has six LPGA Tour wins and won 10 times on the Korean LPGA Tour.

Ryu was ranked No 1 in the world for 19 weeks in 2017, while winning LPGA Player of the Year honours that season.

Elsewhere, Rourke van der Spuy set the tone for what should be another low-scoring Players Championship with his opening nine-under-par 63 to lead the incomplete first round of this Sunshine Tour event.

Van Der Spuy’s putting was superb as he rolled in nine birdies – starting with back-to-back birdies over his opening two holes – and didn’t make a single bogey.

Luca Filippi, who challenged for this title last year before Kyle Barker claimed the victory, is once again in contention after opening with a round of seven-under-par 65.

But even before he teed off, Van Der Spuy was well aware that it was once again going to take some low scoring to win this week.

It was at this tournament last year where Casey Jarvis shot a 59 in the third round to equal the lowest round in Sunshine Tour history, and scores of 29 over nine holes are also not uncommon.

“The tone has been set in this tournament over the last few years so you know what to expect. Before I teed off there were already a couple of six-, seven- and eight-unders up on the leaderboard. And then with what Casey did last year, you just know that it’s out there,” said Van Der Spuy.