“Tiger Woods is here to win” - Fred Couples says 15x Major winner is not here to simply make the cut
The presence of Tiger Woods at any golf course is always news, more so if it is the Augusta National Golf Club. Although he is not one of the favorites to win in 2024, there have been some signs that Woods could spring a surprise.
One of those signs came from Fred Couples, who on Tuesday, April 9, played nine practice holes with Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas. At the end of the session, Couples spoke with Golf Channel about how good Woods' game is looking.
Here's what Couples had to say:
"Tiger is hitting it pure. JT is bombing it. The golf course is absolutely stunning. . . it's firm and fast, and it's really, really nice. Really nice... The last thing he [Tiger Woods] is thinking about is making the cut. I just watched him play nine holes and he never mis hits a shot. He's here to win."
Tiger Woods was spotted Tuesday on the practice range exhibiting a clubhead speed of 174 miles per hour (MPH). On Monday, Woods played several practice holes with Will Zalatoris, and the latter also spoke of the 15-time Major champion's athletic form (via TWLegion):
"He outdrove me a couple of times so there was some chirping going on... With everything he's gone through, it's pretty amazing to see how good he's swinging it."
Woods has played in 25 editions of the Masters, with 24 cuts made (23 in a row). He has won the green jacket five times and finished nine times in the Top 10.
Tiger Woods at The Masters 2024: Tee time and group
The Masters Tournament organizers have revealed the tee times and groups for the first two rounds of the event. Woods was placed in Group 27 which tees off at 1:24 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday and 10:18 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Friday.
Woods was grouped with Australian Major champion Jason Day and 6-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa. Homa qualified to play at Augusta National by virtue of his world ranking (11th), while Day did so by virtue of his dual status as a 21st-ranked player and a PGA Tour tournament winner between Masters events (2023 AT&T Byron Nelson).
Other interesting groups will be number 14 (Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele), 15 (Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland and Cameron Smith) and 28 (Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Tom Kim).