Tiger to make late start in astonishing Masters comeback

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 07: Tiger Woods walks to the 18th green during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2022 in Augusta, Georgia. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Tiger Woods continues his remarkable comeback from severe leg injuries Friday with an afternoon tee time at the Masters, where the second round began with the legend in title contention.

The 15-time major champion battled through pain to walk the hilly 7,510-yard Augusta National layout, firing a one-under par 71 to stand four strokes behind South Korean leader Im Sung-jae after 18 holes.

“I’m right where I need to be,” Woods said. “I’m going to be sore. That’s just the way it is.

“But the training cycles we’ve had make sure I have the stamina to keep going. We’ve got three more to go. There’s a long way to go and a lot of shots to be played.

“This golf course is going to change and it’s going to get a lot more difficult.”

Woods made an astonishing return to competition 14 months after a car crash in Southern California caused him severe right leg injuries.

Rods, plates and pins help hold together his leg after he was hospitalized for weeks and unable to walk for months.

Rehabilitation work has allowed the 46-year-old medical marvel to make an epic comeback at an iconic setting.

“I’m as sore as I expected to feel, but it was amazing,” Woods said after his first round. “It’s about the training that we’ve done to have the stamina to go.”

Woods, tied for 10th after the first round, is set to tee off at 1:41 p.m. (1741 GMT) in the third-to-last group of the day with playing partners Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Joaquin Niemann of Chile.

Im shot 67 to grab