Is Tiger Woods prepping for the Masters? His jet might offer a clue

Bob Harig reported Saturday afternoon that Woods played Augusta with club chairman Fred Ridley and Justin Thomas.

Happy plane-tracking season, everyone. It seems like, in recent years, March has become the month when everyone wildly speculates whether Tiger Woods will be giving it a go at the Masters. And that includes following his movements (and the movements of his plane) with a microscope.

According to a tweet from the flight tracking account, @radaratlas2, Woods’ private plane, a 15-year-old Gulfstream G550 with the tailnumber N517TW, flew to Augusta, Ga., on Saturday morning.

Is it possible Woods’ plane flew to the site of the year’s first major, where its owner has won five times and can play pretty much whenever he wants?

Woods, a previous winner, is currently registered to play at Augusta National for the Masters unless he withdraws. Unlike the PGA Tour, he is not required to confirm his participation by the Friday before the event.

The Masters website currently shows Woods as a participant.

Tiger Woods' plane flew to Augusta Regional Airport this morning, per @radaratlas2

Pretty safe bet this is a pre-Masters scouting trip for the 🐐 https://t.co/NopbKNIpIF

— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) March 30, 2024

Woods has always advanced to the weekend at the Masters tournament as a professional golfer.

In 2023, he had to withdraw but not before making his 23rd straight cut at Augusta, which matched a record for the event.

He said in December at his charity event in the Bahamas that his goal for 2024 was to play “a tournament a month,” but he didn’t play on the PGA Tour in January and skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, the two events he was most likely to play in March.

Woods’ last start came at the Genesis Invitational in February, which benefits his foundation and where he serves as host. But he withdrew midway through his second round with what he later confirmed was the flu. He didn’t attend the trophy presentation ceremony in Los Angeles.

Woods did recover in time to make his first-ever appearance at the exclusive Seminole Pro-Member in Palm Beach, Fla., two weeks later in early March. He teamed with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh to finish T33 in the net division and T44 in the gross flight. But that event was closed to the public.

This isn’t the first time Woods’ flight history has been tracked in anticipation of him returning to major championship golf.

Prior to the 2022 Masters, the news of Woods flying on a private jet to Augusta created a buzz on golf Twitter. It was notable because Woods had not played since his car accident in February 2021. Later, Woods confirmed that he would make his comeback at the Masters and even managed to make the cut, finishing in 47th place.

The same level of excitement was seen when Woods’ aircraft traveled to Tulsa later that spring for the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, where Woods participated in another tournament. Woods successfully made the cut once again, but decided to withdraw after the third round.

Before making his comeback in 2022, Woods’ personal airplane was monitored flying to Augusta in 2015 while he was taking a break from professional golf. During that week, Woods finished in 17th place.

Since the accident, Woods has participated in six PGA Tour events, making it to the weekend four times.

However, he has only finished 72 holes twice, with the other instance being at the 2023 Genesis tournament where he ended T45.