Tiger Woods insists he can WIN the Masters as golf legend confirms he will return in shock after horror accident in Augusta

TIGER WOODS roared a Masters warning, “I’m just here to win.”

The 46-year-old American is poised to make a stunning comeback on Thursday – just 14 months after the car crash that nearly cost him his right foot.

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When asked if he thinks he can keep up with Jack Nicklaus’ six Masters, Forest said, “I do. I only show up to an event if I think I can win. So that’s the attitude I had.

“I love to compete and I feel like if I can still compete at the highest level then I will. From now on I will play.

“And if I feel like I can still win, I’ll play. But if I feel like I can’t, you won’t see me out here.”

Woods, who wears specially made shoes to support his ankles, will play a further nine holes on Wednesday before confirming his decision.

But he claimed he’d be pleased with his tally of Majors and sharing a record 82 PGA Tour titles with Sam Snead.

He added: “There will be a day when it won’t happen and that will be when I put it on.

“But I feel like I can still do it. My recovery has been good and I am happy every day with my recovery.”

However, Woods admitted that walking for long periods still makes him uncomfortable.

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He added: “I’ve endured pain before but this is different, much more traumatic.

“I’ve never been in situations like this where I had to run.

“I’m good at punching. I have no qualms about what to do from a golf standpoint. It’s just that walking is the hard part.

“The only flat spots out here are the 18 tees. Otherwise nothing is flat.

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“Now it gets even harder given the condition my leg is in – and 72 holes is a long way.

“My surgeons gave me a chance. Now it’s up to me to take the pain.”

That could well be one last cheer, as Woods admitted: “I don’t know how many more years I can do this. My movement probably won’t get much better.

“For three months after the accident, I didn’t leave the hospital bed, not even to see my living room. That was a tough road.

“Finally getting out of where I wasn’t in a wheelchair or using crutches and walking with more surgeries ahead of me to say I was going to play here would have been very unlikely.

“It’s been a tough, tough year and there’s been a lot of things I’ve had to deal with that I don’t wish on anyone.

“But here we are, Masters week.”

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Forest drew thousands of spectators on Monday when he played a practice round in Augusta.

More than 50,000 are said to have come to see the 15-time Major winner in action.

The American icon has not played in a major since his near-fatal car accident in February 2021.

Woods played the PNC Challenge, a 36-hole scramble on a flat course in Florida, in December, where he and his son Charlie finished second to John Daly and his son.

Woods was allowed to use a cart at that event, and when those rounds were over, he flatly dismissed any notion that his game was tour-ready again.

On December 19, he said: “I can’t compete against these guys at the moment, no. It will take a lot of work to get to where I feel I can compete against these guys and be at a high level can.”

Almost four months later and in what will be 25th anniversary since his first appearance with Augustahe will play

It will be his 24th appearance with The Masters – he has finished in the top five 12 times in his last 23 appearances.

Thursday’s opening round would mark the first time Woods has faced the best players in the world since Nov. 15, 2020 — the final round of this year’s pandemic-delayed Masters.

Two months later, he had his fifth back surgery and was still recovering when his car crashed and rolled down a hill on a coast road outside of Los Angeles.

Woods’ injuries were so severe that doctors considered amputation before reassembling his right leg by inserting a rod into the shin and using screws and pins to stabilize additional injuries to his ankle and foot.