I had serious doubt I could compete again – Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods says his Masters’ triumph is still hard to believe for him, especially when he had had serious doubts that he could compete again.

Woods, 43, won a fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National on Sunday, his first major win in 11 years and a first since having four operations on his back.

The 15-time major winner said he “could barely walk” before surgery and his children had seen golf cause “pain”.

“We’re creating new memories for them and it’s just very special,” he said.”I was very lucky to be given another chance to do something that I love to do. I had serious doubts after what transpired a couple of years ago.

“I couldn’t lay down, I couldn’t do much of anything. I had the procedure which gave me a chance of having a normal life. All of a sudden I realised I could swing a club again. I felt if I could somehow piece this together I still had the hands to do it.

The body is not the same but I still had good hands.To have the opportunity to come back like this, you know it’s probably one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had for sure. It’s got to be right up there, with all the things I’ve battled through.”

Woods one-stroke win from fellow Americans Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka will take him to number six in the world – he was as low as 1,199 in November 2017.

Since his last major win, he had taken an “indefinite break” from golf in 2009 after admissions of infidelity and the breakdown of his marriage.

In 2017, he was in the spotlight again when he was found asleep at the wheel of his car, later pleading guilty to reckless driving.