A longtime friend of Tiger Woods has delivered a very inauspicious prognosis of the famed golfer’s injury status headed into The Masters Tournament.
Notah Begay III, a friend and confidant of Woods going back to their college days and an analyst at NBC Sports, says that his famous friend is dealing with pressing injury issues and is trying to figure out how he can overcome them.
“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with,” Begay told reporters on a conference call. And he’s got some constraints. He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”
Tiger Woods of the United States during the final round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 17, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
During a recent golf tournament hosted by Begay, Woods reportedly confided in Begay that, “My ankle doesn’t move. So something’s going to take the stress. I mean, the stress is going to transfer somewhere else.”
It should be no surprise that Woods would struggle with ankle and leg issues. The legendary golfer faced the possibility of losing his leg after a serious car accident in 2021.
Begay noted, however, that despite having worked on the problem for some time, a solution has eluded Woods.
“For the past couple months, he’s been trying to find a way to recover,” Begay told reporters.
Tiger Woods of the United States reacts to his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2023, in Augusta, Georgia. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be, ‘Can he walk the 72 (holes)?’ That’s still up in the air. But can he recover from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know, and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
Currently, DraftKings has Woods at 130-1 odds of winning The Masters.
