‘Struggling’ Tiger Woods is ‘day-to-day,’ says Mark O’Meara

There was, as anticipated, a Tiger Woods sighting at Augusta National Tuesday night. Just don’t expect to see the “struggling” superstar start a PGA Tour tournament any time soon, if Champions Dinner date Mark O’Meara’s observations about the health of his old pal are any indication.

“I know it’s a struggle for him, I can tell you that much,” O’Meara told GolfChannel.com’s Ryan Lavner after a practice round for the Masters on Wednesday before heavy rain forced officials to suspend play. “When you’re a competitor like he is, and you’ve accomplished what he has, he certainly misses being here and playing the game at a high level because that’s what he’s been all about for all of these years.”

Woods, who has no idea when, or if, he’ll tee it up again in competition, will skip his second straight Masters and third in four years as he continues to suffer from pain in the same lower-back area where he has had three operations, according to O’Meara.

“I feel for him. He’s day-to-day. He said, ‘Some days I have good days; some days I have bad days,’” said O’Meara. “But he’s such a competitor that he can’t come out and play half of what he did.

“The timetable for his return,” O’Meara said, “I didn’t ask him. But you can tell that it’s kind of you just have to wait and see.”