“Why wouldn't he be a favourite?" - Tiger Woods can win sixth Green Jacket at Augusta on one condition, says Fred Couples

Consider Fred Couples the conductor of the Tiger Woods hype train as the veteran golfer has given him a supreme vote of confidence. Woods is just returning to action this weekend, and Couples sees great things on the horizon - including a Major win.

Woods has committed to playing once a month, now that he's recovered from ankle surgery. Given the fact that he has invitations to all Majors, he will be back at The Masters in April, where he last played in 2023 and set a record for consecutive cuts made.

It's there that Couples believes Woods will cement his return by not just making the cut, but potentially winning it. The veteran golfer threw his hat in Woods' ring and wondered why he wouldn't be a top candidate to take home that trophy.

Couples said on SiriusXM radio:

"He's won his whole life, and if he feels as healthy and as good as it sounds... I don't think in the last year or so he really sounded this good. He's fresh. If he can possibly play once a month and show up at Augusta, why wouldn't he be a favourite?"

The only caveat is whether or not Woods is as healthy as he seems. After recovering from ankle surgery, the legendary golfer seems to be in much better shape.

Couples and George Downing also mentioned that he had no legs underneath him in 2023 and still made the cut, so it's easy to envision a world where he competes and could walk away with a win.

As shocking as it would be, it's not unprecedented. In 2019, Woods won what is his most recent and 15th Major at Augusta. This was a surprising win and it came after some health issues as well.

It was also after an 11-year timeframe since his last Major win, so Woods can clearly defy the odds and win another. Fred Couples certainly believes he can.

Right now, he's a tremendous long shot. He is +10000 according to VegasInsider. That's below Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed and Tony Finau, among others.

The favorite, of course, is reigning Masters winner Jon Rahm. He will be difficult to dethrone next year.

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Will Tiger Woods play in Majors?

Tiger Woods hasn't specifically confirmed that he's going to suit up for the four Majors: the US Open, the Open Championship, the PGA Championship and the Masters. However, there's good reason to believe he will.

Tiger Woods is on the way back

Having won all four of them in his lifetime, he has standing invitations to them, so it wouldn't make sense for him to pass them up if he's healthy and able. He also recently commited to playing once a month, which almost certainly means the Majors in April, May, June and July.

He also specifically said he wanted to play the PLAYERS Championship, which is often called golf's fifth Major. So if he wants to play in that tournament, the chances are good that he wants to play in the actual Majors and give himself a chance to win one more and get one step closer to Jack Nicklaus' record.