The Masters: Tiger Woods drops 7-word bomb Jack Nicklaus will hear | Only Sports And Health

His confidence continues to radiate.

Ahead of his 26th appearance at The Masters, five-time champion Tiger Woods believes he can win again at Augusta National.

“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” Woods said Tuesday.

“I still think that I can. I haven’t got to that point where I don’t think I can’t.”

One more win would give him 16 major championships, only two shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record.

“If he remained healthy, I think he would’ve got it, but he didn’t remain healthy,” Nicklaus said in January.

Nicklaus then went on to say that his record of 18 major victories will likely stand forever.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

Still, Woods believes in himself, despite admitting Tuesday that his body hurts every day.

Some days, it is better than others. And yet, Woods, a competitor at heart, shows up at The Masters year after year because he loves this game.

“I love golf. I do. I’ve always loved it. I played other sports growing up, but I just have always loved this sport,” Woods said.

“Being able to have the love I have for the game and the love for competition be intertwined, I think that’s one of the reasons why I’ve had a successful career. I just love doing the work. I love logging the time in, and I love preparing. I love competing, and I love that feeling when everything’s on fire with a chance to win, and you either do or you don’t.”

That internal drive that won him 15 majors continues to light a fire within him, even at 48 years old. But the pain will not stop him. He even admitted that every shot at Augusta National is challenging on his body, except for when he hits from the tee boxes.

“I hurt every day,” Woods said with a smile.

“I ache. No, I ache every day. And I prefer it warm and humid and hot. And I know we’re going to get some thunderstorms. So, at least it will be hot. It won’t be like last year.”

One year ago, a cold front during the third round caused havoc in Georgia, dumping inches of rain and sending temperatures into the low 50s. Woods withdrew because his body could not fight against the inclement weather.

Then, this past February, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational, citing an illness. That marked his first event since the Hero World Challenge in December. Before that, Woods last played at the 2023 Masters.

“I wasn’t ready to play. My body wasn’t ready. My game wasn’t ready. And I thought that when I was at the Hero, once a month would be a really nice rhythm,” Woods said.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

“Hasn’t worked out that way. But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once a month hopefully kicks in.”

And yet, despite all of his ailments, fusions, and the pain that seems to bite him every day, Woods’ contemporaries continue to marvel at how well he can still play.

“Tiger is hitting it pure,” said 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, who played a practice round alongside Woods and Justin Thomas on Tuesday morning.

“He just hits it so good… He said his back is doing okay. I think last year it was so bad that a lot of things wore him down: playing in that rain, moving around slowly, being sluggish. The tee times were maybe when he couldn’t get work done… But this year, he looks strong, and he’s excited to play, and I think he looks really, really good.”

Will Zalatoris, who played the back nine with Woods on Monday, echoed these sentiments.

“He played great. He outdrove me a couple of times, so there was some chirping going on,” Zalatoris said Monday.

“He looks great. He’s moving as well as he can. Again, with everything he’s gone through, it’s pretty amazing to see how well he’s swinging it.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.