Tiger Woods receives glowing review from Will Zalatoris ahead of 88th Masters

Woods has played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year.

Tiger Woods, pictured, ‘played great’ in practice ahead of the Masters, according to playing partner Will Zalatoris (Matt Slocum/AP) (AP)

Tiger Woods received a glowing review from playing partner Will Zalatoris after stepping up his preparations for the 88th Masters at Augusta National.

Woods has played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.

The 48-year-old returned to action in December’s Hero World Challenge and finished 18th in the 20-man field, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.

Woods had also suffered a back spasm which led to a dreaded shank on the 18th hole in round one.

However, having made a record-equalling 23rd consecutive cut in last year’s Masters, Woods will no doubt be keen to at least own that record for himself this week and he certainly impressed Zalatoris in their nine holes of practice.

Asked if the prospect of Woods making a 24th straight cut “blew his mind”, Zalatoris said: “It’s just everything the guy has done.

He played great today

Will Zalatoris on Tiger Woods

“You could just sit there and analyse the same stats for his entire career and put him in five different buckets and every one of them is never going to be broken.

“He played great today. He outdrove me a couple times so there was some chirping going on. So, you know, he looks great. He’s moving as well as he can be.

“With everything he’s gone through, it’s pretty amazing to see how good he’s swinging it.”