Tiger Woods will play in the 2024 Masters, and his preparation includes abstaining from sex, according to a friend.
“He’s focused,” the friend told the New York Post. “He’s working really hard in the gym. He’s eating right. He’s even eliminated sex.
“He does that now when he’s preparing — no sex until the tournament is over. He doesn’t want anything to take away his focus.”
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Woods is single after a six-year relationship with Erica Herman, his former girlfriend who tried suing him for $30 million in an attempt to rid herself of a non-disclosure agreement she signed. She dropped the case in November.
Woods’ focus on the course is legendary, but this is a first to hear how he’s preparing for another major tournament.
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However, abstaining from sex isn’t anything new in sports. It’s common among fighters in boxing and mixed martial arts, as research has shown it can raise testosterone levels. Mike Tyson once said he went five years without sex during his prime fighting years, while Muhammad Ali said he would abstain from sex six weeks before big bouts.
But not everyone agrees that it’s the best way to lock in before an athletic performance. NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath told Playboy in his heyday that sex before games would help him “get rid of the kind of nervous tension that an athlete doesn’t need.”
Woods has had many big moments since he turned pro in the ‘90s, and he has 15 major wins to show for it, including five green jackets from the Masters.
Tiger Woods plays a shot from the 13th tee during the second round of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on May 11, 2018. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Woods has yet to officially announce his plans for Augusta National Golf Club next week, though he is in the Masters field. The friend told the Post that Woods is letting his inner circle know he’ll be playing.
According to the friend, Woods is already in Augusta, Georgia, and played a round at the course.
Woods had to bow out of the Genesis Invitational in February — his last time in a PGA Tour event — due to an illness that required an ambulance at Los Angeles’ Riviera Country Club to administer an IV bag to replenish his fluids. Woods was dealing with flu-like symptoms, and despite a solid opening round, he had to withdraw from the tournament.
Tiger Woods is seen preparing for the Open Championship in 2022. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Woods, the PGA Tour’s co-leader in all-time career wins, competed at the Masters in 2023 and made more history at Augusta by tying Gary Player and Fred Couples for the most consecutive tournament cuts made (23). However, he never finished the tournament.
Woods withdrew after aggravating his plantar fasciitis.
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