Injured Tiger Woods will miss Masters’ 20th anniversary

Severe leg injuries in a February car crash ensured Tiger Woods won’t be playing in this year’s Masters on the 20th anniversary of his “Tiger Slam” victory at Augusta National.

But the 45-year-old superstar, whose 15 major titles include five Masters green jackets, will have his legacy felt across the famed layout.

Woods is recovering at home in Florida after suffering serious injuries when his car flew off the road and flipped several times during the Southern California accident.

Hours of surgery were required to repair his shattered lower right leg and ankle, including a rod inserted into his tibia and the use of screws and pins to stabilize the joint.

Woods, who won his most recent major at the 2019 Masters, became the first black Golfer to win a major title when he captured the 1997 Masters in record fashion.

On Thursday, the Masters will pay tribute to the first black Golfer to play in the event when Lee Elder hits a ceremonial tee shot alongside usual honorary starters Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

“Lee was a pioneer. He was the one that broke the color barrier here and paved the way for players of color like myself to be able to play this event,” Woods said about Elder.

“It’s ironic that he did it in ‘75, I was born in ‘75, and when I won in ‘97, he was on the back of the green.”

“To have him as our Honorary Starter, it’s awfully special and important in the history of the event, but also for me personally, it’s probably even more special.”

Woods, whose 82 US PGA victories is level with Sam Snead for the all-time record, faces a long recovery and questions about his future. He was already recovering from a fifth career back surgery at the time of the crash, which investigators have described as “purely an accident” with no evidence of impairment.

Woods completed a fairytale comeback from multiple back operations to win the 2019 Masters, an emotional victory that saw him hug his children the way he did he late father after his 1997 triumph.

Tringale takes Texas Open lead: Cameron Tringale shrugged off a slow start to fire seven birdies in a three-under-par 69 and take a two-shot halfway lead in the US PGA Tour Texas Open.

Tringale, seeking his first US PGA Tour title, opened with back-to-back bogeys at TPC San Antonio, unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the 10th before finding a fairway bunker at 11.

But the American, who has made 11 cuts in 14 starts this season, strung together five birdies in a row from the 13th through the 17th, surging up the leaderboard to finish the day two strokes clear of former world number one Jordan Spieth and England’s Matt Wallace.

Wallace had four birdies in his four-under par 68 for 137. Spieth joined him at seven-under with a 70 that featured four birdies and two bogeys.

It was a further two strokes back to another quartet of players on 139: South African Erik van Rooyen and Americans Kevin Stadler, Kyle Stanley and Brandt Snedeker.

Tringale’s run of five straight birdies was his fourth in US PGA Tour competition, the most recent coming in his tie for third at the RSM Classic in November.