"I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people this week" - Tiger Woods' ex-coach Harmon confident of the golfer's performance at the 2023 Masters
Tiger Woods has gone through a lot physically in recent times. Injuries from a life-threatening accident in 2021 have affected him so much that he's still trying to get fully fit. Hence, expecting a great outcome from the ace golfer at the upcoming Masters is a bit of a stretch.
However, Tiger's former coach, Butch Harmon, feels that the five-time Masters Champion can still give other golfers a run for their money in the first major of the season. Given Woods' physical limitations, Harmon thinks his main challenge will be walking over the next four days at Augusta National.
As per NUCLR Golf, he was quoted saying:
"Tiger is swinging it beautifully. It's just can he handle the walk? His golf game is great, I think he's hitting the ball beautifully. He's hitting it long & he's got a lot of speed back. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people this week."
Butch Harmon on TW: "Tiger is swinging it beautifully. It's just can he handle the walk? His golf game is great, I think he's hitting the ball beautifully. He's hitting it long & he's got a lot of speed back. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people this week."… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
🚨🐅 Butch Harmon on TW: "Tiger is swinging it beautifully. It's just can he handle the walk? His golf game is great, I think he's hitting the ball beautifully. He's hitting it long & he's got a lot of speed back. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people this week."… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/OfWiDozd79
The 2023 Masters is Tiger's second appearance on the golf course this year as he has decided to limit his schedule to manage his body. He was last seen at the Genesis Invitational in February, where he finished T-46.
Harmon told Mirror Sports:
"I think his game is good enough for him to compete to win there. But I don’t know physically how strong he will be walking 72 holes... It is very difficult, it is a hard golf course to walk because of the hills. You get a lot of side hill lies, ball below your feet, ball above, downhill, uphill, which puts a lot of strain on the body physically.
"In Tiger’s case it is more the stamina of whether he can walk the 72 holes. From watching him I know his game can handle playing it, it is just if he can physically do it."
Tiger Woods has won The Masters tournament five times (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2019) in his career.
Harmon, who worked as Woods' coach from 1993 to 2004, believes the veteran will play as long as he feels he is competitive enough and won't play just for the sake of playing.
He told Mirror Sports:
"Tiger won’t tee it up, just for the sake of teeing it up and shooting very high numbers. That isn’t who he is, he is a competitor. He feels he can be competitive and his body will allow it, he will go for as long as he feels capable of it."
Between 1993 and 2004 under Harmon's coaching, Woods won 39 PGA Tour titles, including eight Major wins. His first three Masters wins came under Harmon's coaching.
Tiger Woods paired alongside Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele for 2023 Masters Round 1 and 2
Tiger Woods made his last appearance at the Genesis Invitational in February and is now set to make a comeback in professional golf with the 2023 Masters at Augusta National. The five-time Masters champion is grouped with skilled golfers Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele.
Hovland and Schauffele were last seen at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play where the former exited in the group stage but Schauffele made it to the quarterfinals.