Tiger Woods still uncertain about competing in Augusta Masters

Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods is still reportedly uncertain if he will compete in next week's Masters despite playing an 18-hole practice round on Tuesday at Augusta National.

Citing comments from Woods' agent Mark Steinberg, ESPN and USA Today had reported that the American golfer continues to work on his game but is undecided if he would be ready in time for the year's first major and try for a fifth green jacket.

Steinberg revealed that Woods clearly was working hard and he would advise as to when he is ready to play competitively, Sport24 reported.

The golfer, who flew to Augusta early on Tuesday, has not played in a US PGA Tour event since withdrawing at Torrey Pines on February 5 after 11 holes with back pain, saying the following week that he was taking an indefinite break until he could improve his game to a competitive level.

Woods had said in February that his play and scores were not acceptable for tournament golf, adding that he enters a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when he believed he was ready, he would be back.

Woods said that his latest issues were unrelated to the back surgery he had exactly one year ago, an operation that caused him to miss the Masters for the first time in 20 years.

Woods, chasing the all-time record of 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, has fallen to 104th in the world rankings, falling outside the top 100 for the first time since before his first PGA triumph at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, the report added.