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Justin Thomas can't see Tiger returning 'if he can't play well'

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Justin Thomas isn't sure if Tiger Woods will return to the PGA TOUR.

Although Woods hasn't offered any updates on his recovery since he suffered significant injuries to his right leg in a February car crash, Thomas believes the 15-time major champion will only come back if he can perform.

"I don't see him ever playing if he can't play well," said Thomas, who's visited Woods multiple times a week at his South Florida home, on the No Laying Up podcast. "He doesn't strike me as a guy (who's playing) at home, and he's shooting a bunch of 75s and 76s, and he's like, 'Alright, I'm gonna give Augusta a try this year.'

"That's not really gonna be him, at least from my understanding, from what I know of him."

Woods famously won the 2019 Masters, his 82nd PGA TOUR victory, after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in April 2017. He's currently tied with Sam Snead for the most PGA TOUR wins of all time.

"I think he knows that there's a pretty good chance that might be the last chance he really ever had, before (the crash), of making another run," Thomas said. "But, at the same time, I know how determined he is, and I know he's going to want to at least try to give something again.

"Obviously, I hope he does. But at the same time, like I said after the accident, as long as he can be a dad and be normal with that again, that's the No. 1 priority, and the rest is a bonus."

The most recent photos of Woods show the 45-year-old watching his son, Charlie, at a junior golf tournament.

Woods' charity tournament, the Hero World Challenge, is scheduled for next month in the Bahamas. The five-time Masters champion has yet to say whether or not he'll make his first public appearance since the crash at the event.

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