ESPN analyst thinks Tiger Woods is finished after his Achilles tear

Two-time large victor Andy North believes Tiger Woods' hopes of ever competing astatine the apical of the leaderboard are implicit aft helium ruptured his Achilles up of The Masters.

The 49-year-old, a 15-time large champion, is facing different agelong spell of rehabilitation aft having country to repair his near Achilles past month.

Woods has been plagued by wounded implicit caller years - the play fable has had six surgeries connected his backmost and besides required an cognition connected his ankle backmost successful 2023.

He managed to triumph a miraculous 5th Masters rubric successful 2019 - astatine the property of 43 - but North believes those days person present passed.

Woods' prima powerfulness has not diminished contempt his property and he precocious went nationalist with his narration with Vanessa Trump - the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr. 

But the 49-year-old has not played a competitory tourney since past year's Open Championship, erstwhile helium missed the cut.

He finished 60th astatine past year's Masters astatine Augusta but that remains the lone clip helium has completed 4 rounds of a large since 2022. 

And North, a long-time expert for ESPN, believes Woods volition conflict to retrieve from this latest wounded setback.

'I deliberation that the rival successful him — you ever deliberation you tin rehab. You ever deliberation you tin travel back,' North said, per Golf.com. 

'You ever judge that you tin bash this. But I don’t person immoderate magic answers there. I would deliberation that he’s going to effort to play immoderate events aft this rehab. 

'Is it going to beryllium a Tiger Woods that tin compete? Deep successful my heart, I don’t deliberation so.'

Woods claimed that helium would beryllium portion of the tract astatine Augusta as portion of an April Fool's Day prank. The reality, however, is that helium faces a agelong spell of recovery.

'This adjacent rehab is going to beryllium brutally hard for him,' North added. 'He doesn’t person to beryllium thing to anybody. He’s done everything helium needed to do. 

'If helium were to denote successful the adjacent period oregon 2 that, you cognize what, I’m ne'er playing competitory play again, I deliberation that would beryllium great, and nary 1 would person an contented with that.'

But North, who won the US Open successful some 1978 and 1985, believes that Tiger's teenage lad Charlie, 16, is the main crushed wherefore Woods is inactive playing.

'I’ve got to judge that — heavy down successful my heart, helium is 1 of the large competitors of each time.

'But if helium didn’t person immoderate children, I don’t cognize if he’d beryllium playing now,' the 75-year-old said. 

'I deliberation 1 of the reasons he’s worked truthful hard aft the mishap was due to the fact that it gave him a large accidental to walk truthful overmuch clip with Charlie and play play with his son, and ticker Charlie get better.'