Tiger Woods doesn’t know how many Masters he has left

AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Tiger Woods prepares for his 25th Masters appearance, the five-time champion said Tuesday that the thought of one day playing his last competitive round at Augusta National has crossed his mind.

“I don’t know how many more I have in me,” Woods said. “I know more guys on the Champions Tour than I do the regular tour.”

There wasn’t any resignation in the way Woods said it. It was more of an unintentional explanation for the message he has been repeating over the past year since he battled to make the cut in his 2022 return to the Masters after a car crash that nearly took his leg: His body is no longer the same, but his game remains. And so does his stubbornness to practice, compete and ultimately win.

“The overall desire to win has always been there,” Woods said. “And I’ve always worked at it and believed in what I could do.”

What he can do now is limited. Woods, 47, said Tuesday that his game feels better than it did last year but that his body aches more because he has pushed it more, both at the Genesis Invitational in February and getting ready for the first major of the year by practicing at home.

“I’ve been able to re-create a lot of the chip shots at home in my backyard, or I’m at Medalist hitting balls off the side of lies,” Woods said “I’m trying to simulate shots and rehearsing again and again each and every flag location, each and every shot I would possibly hit.”

If there’s any place where Woods can compete, especially win, it’s Augusta, which has become like a second home for his golf game as well as a repository for his best moments and favorite memories. And even though his mobility is not where he wants, he has accepted the reality of his circumstances and has instead, as he put it Tuesday, chosen to be grateful for still having his leg.

“I’m very lucky to have this leg; it’s mine,” Woods said. “Yes, it has been altered and there’s some hardware in there, but it’s still mine. It has…