For weeks, golf fans were looking for clues. The official Masters app showed Tiger Woods set for his 27th start in 2026, and just three days before his accident, he played competitive golf at the TGL Finals for the first time in over a year. Still, there was no official word from Woods. Everyone was waiting for a clear answer from him, and on March 27, they finally got one. But it didn’t come from a press conference.

“Sure, I’m hoping so.”

That was Woods’ reply when a deputy, chatting from the front seat of a patrol car, asked if he planned to play the Masters. On March 27, Tiger Woods rolled his Land Rover on Jupiter Island after hitting a pressure-cleaning truck on a two-lane residential road. He was sitting handcuffed in the back of the patrol car when the question came up. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released the bodycam footage on April 2, and those four words, spoken six days before Augusta was set to begin, were the only confirmation fans got.

This Masters felt especially important because of a familiar pattern. Woods has often used Augusta as the stage for his comebacks. He returned at the 2010 Masters after his 2009 crash, and he played in the 2022 Masters just fourteen months after the Los Angeles accident that almost cost him his leg. An Achilles rupture in March 2025 and a seventh back surgery in October kept him out for all of 2025. All signs pointed to Augusta. Nothing suggested otherwise.

After the arrest, fans quickly shared their opinions, and the release of the bodycam footage gave them something concrete to react to.

“So basically, we have the Jupiter police department to thank for robbing us of getting to see Tiger Woods compete at The Masters in 2026?”

“Wish he was teeing it up at Augusta.”

On March 31, four days before the footage was released, Woods had already announced he would not play in the 2026 Masters. He shared a statement saying:

“I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.”

A few hours later, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley responded:

“Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt here in Augusta.”

The bodycam footage also revealed a telling moment. When a deputy asked if Woods needed anything from the wrecked SUV, he asked for his clubs. The officer pointed out the putter, and Woods, handcuffed in the back seat, replied:

“I won 14 majors with it.”

Rob McNamara, Woods’ longtime manager and close friend, arrived at the scene and heard the exchange. He shared his own thoughts with the officers outside:

“Putter’s worth more than all our houses.”

The fact that Woods asked about his putter before anything else—even his phone—shows how important that club is to him. Its history is worth a closer look.

Tiger Woods’ Scotty Cameron putter: 14 Majors and counting

The club is a custom Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS, German Stainless Steel. Woods first used it in May 1999 at the GTE Byron Nelson Classic. From that point, it became central to his most dominant years. The only major it did not feature in was the 1997 Masters, which Woods won with another Scotty Cameron. Every other major title from 1999 through the 2019 Masters was won with this putter.

The club shows clear signs of use. Woods has declined offers to restore it, choosing to keep the visible marks from years of play. The putter would likely command at least eight figures if it were ever put up for auction.

It has not, and Woods has shown no interest in that changing. When a Japanese investor was brought to Woods ready to pay a seven-figure sum for it, the answer was no. Backup versions of the Newport 2 GSS, clubs Woods never used in competition, have fetched as much as $393,000 at auction.

The Masters starts April 9. Woods will not play in the 2025 edition, which led to a 28% decline in first-round viewership. His name is off the tee sheet for a second consecutive year, with no indication of when he will return.