Tiger Woods knows this could be his last Masters chance

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods sounds more wistful by the day.

He’s 47 years old and four years removed from his last major championship victory, which happened to be his last Masters victory and his last win of any kind.

Woods, in his Tuesday meeting with reporters at Augusta National, sounded like he’s getting ever so close to becoming a ceremonial Masters player like the game’s legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus eventually did once they knew they could no longer compete to win.

But Woods, whose 2019 Masters victory was his 15th major championship and fifth green jacket, is at Augusta National this week to compete in his 25th Masters — albeit with more physical limitations than he’s ever had.

Because of the injuries he sustained to his right leg in his February 2021 car crash in Los Angeles as well as his lingering back problems, Woods enters this week having competed in just one official PGA Tour event in the past seven months, his tie for 45th in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in February.

“With the accident, it’s been a tough, tough road, and it’s the appreciation of being able to play this game,’’ Woods said. “And then to be able to come here and play at Augusta National, it’s such a special place and it means so much to me in my heart to be able to come here and play this golf course and just appreciate the memories that I’ve had here, whether it’s in competition or the practice rounds or the stories.

“So much of my life has been here at Augusta National.

This tournament has meant so much to me in my life. I’ve had so many great memories here.’’

Then came this sobering admission from Woods: “I don’t know how many more I have in me.’’

Still, though, Woods is clinging to the hope that he might have one more moment of glory left in him, one more win, one more green jacket.

“I know the golf course, so I’ve been able to recreate a lot of the chip shots at home in my backyard or I’m at Medalist [Golf Club] hitting balls off [side lies], trying to simulate shots and rehearsing again and again each and every flag location, each and every shot I would possibly hit,’’ he said.

“I’ve gone through so many different scenarios in my head … rummaging through the data bank and how to hit shots from each and every place and rehearsing it.

“That’s the only way that I can compete here. I don’t have the physical tournaments under my belt. I haven’t played that much, but if there’s any one golf course that I can come back [to], like I did last year, it’s here, just because I know the golf course.’’

Woods went on to reference some of the remarkable performances that past champions Bernhard Langer (now 65) and Fred Couples (63) have summoned well into their 50s.

Woods, who chipped and putted on Sunday, played a practice round Monday with Couples, Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim.

He played with Couples and Justin Thomas on Tuesday.

“He looks good,’’ McIlroy said. “If he didn’t have to walk up these hills and have all of that I’d say he’d be one of the favorites. He’s got all of the shots. It’s just that physical limitation of walking 72 holes, especially on a golf course as hilly as this.’’

Woods offered a read-between-the-lines glimpse at his future, referring to playing on the Champions Tour with use of a golf cart when he joked, “I get three more years before I get the little buggy with Fred. But until then, no buggy.’’

No. No cart at Augusta National and no carts in PGA Tour events.

“He’s pretty banged up,” Woods caddie Joe LaCava told The Post. “If it wasn’t Augusta, he probably wouldn’t be playing. He still has the power, the swing speed, the shots and the length to contend. The injury is devastating, but if he could take a cart, he could contend tomorrow.”

More than 500 days after his car crash, Woods made his official return to competitive golf at the 2022 Masters.

He finished 47th after consecutive 6-over 78s on the weekend, his worst scores at the Masters.

“I didn’t win the tournament, but for me to be able to come back and play was a small victory in itself,’’ Woods said of the 2022 Masters. “I didn’t get the ‘W,’ but I got my own smaller version of that to be able to play.’’

For a guy who used to stare down reporters with incredulous looks if they asked him before the start of a tournament whether he thought he could win, this was a marked departure.

A sure step closer to the Palmer-Nicklaus ceremonial portion of his Masters life.

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