15 February 2023 , 16:17
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Tiger Woods is anticipating an awkward Masters reunion as he admitted he does not know how he will react in the company of LIV Golf rebels.
Woods is making his comeback on the PGA Tour this week and will tee off alongside Rory McIlroy at the Genesis Invitational on Thursday. The 15-time major champion is also expected to be in the Masters field at Augusta in two months time as he prepares for his first competitive start since last summer's Open Championship at St Andrews.
And Woods will come face-to-face with LIV players at the traditional Masters Champions dinner before the iconic tournament begins in Georgia.
Former Masters champions Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson have all defected to LIV but will receive invitations to the dinner as owners of a Green Jacket.
Woods, meanwhile, has strongly opposed the disruptive emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV series and has remained a loyal ambassador of the PGA Tour. But he is unsure how his strong views on LIV will impact any exchanges with defectors to the series at Augusta.
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"I don’t know because I haven’t been around them,” he said. “Some of the players out here have – for instance, Rory was in Dubai with some of those players.
"I don’t know what that reaction is going to be. I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path, but we’ll see when all that transpires. That is still a couple of months away."
Woods is making his PGA Tour comeback at the Genesis Invitational this week (Getty Images)Woods has only been surrounded by LIV players once, at his last tournament start at St Andrews in July, but hopes the palpable tension in golf's ongoing civil war will not impact defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler's celebratory dinner come April.
“The Champions Dinner is obviously going to be something that is talked about. We as a whole need to honour Scottie," Woods insisted.
“Scottie is the winner, it’s his dinner and so making sure that Scottie is honoured correctly, but also realising the nature of what has transpired and the people who have left and just where our situations are either legally or emotionally. There’s a lot there.”