Tiger Woods has been spotted hitting balls on the practice range at Augusta National , increasing hopes the former world No 1 will confirm his appearance at this year 's first Major . Woods has not appeared on the PGA Tour since withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open on February 5 with a recurrence of his back problems . He has since taken a leave of absence in a bid to return to form , but there has been speculation he will return for the Masters , a tournament he has won four times . Tiger Woods was spotted practising at Augusta on Tuesday and is said to have returned to the course . Woods has dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in almost 19 years . Tiger Woods made his first appearance at the Masters as a 19-year-old back on April 3 , 1995 . Woods said he was not impressed by the iconic venue when he first drove through the gates . He said : 'When I first arrived here — Magnolia Lane , is that it ? — I thought that it was a pretty short drive . 'From what everyone says , it ’ s majestic and a long drive , you can ’ t believe it , and this , that and the other . ' Tiger played 18 holes at the course on Tuesday and insiders from the Golf Channel say he has now returned to the venue for a practice session . Woods did not play last year 's Masters following back surgery - the first time he had missed the event since he first played it in 1995 . On Monday , Woods dropped out of the top 100 in the world rankings for the first time in almost 19 years . The 14-time major winner did not record a top-10 finish in nine starts in 2014 , and has missed three cuts and withdrawn twice in his last six Tour starts . Woods ' last title came at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013 . Woods , pictured driving off the 10th tee in April 1995 , made his Masters debut 20 years ago . Woods has won the Masters on four separate occasions with his last win coming in 2005 .
Tiger Woods increased speculation regarding possible Major comeback . Woods has been spotted at Augusta National on more than once occasion . The 39-year-old has dropped out of top 100 for first time in almost 19 years .