Tiger Woods has apparently banned himself from having sex until after the Masters next week, where is bidding to equal Jack Nicklaus’ record of six green jackets.
A friend of Woods 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.’
The 48-year-old is currently single after a bitter split from ex-girlfriend Erica Herman last year.
The Masters is held April 11-14 and Woods flew to Georgia last week for a practice round ahead of the tournament that he has won five times.
Tiger Woods apparently has a self-imposed sex-ban ahead of The Masters at Augusta
The 48-year-old Woods is a five-time winner at Augusta – a sixth would equal the record
Woods is single after a bitter split last year with his former girlfriend, Erica Herman
It came days after Woods was reunited with his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, at a ceremony for their son Charlie, who had won a high school state golf championship in Florida.
Woods, 48, was married to Swedish model Nordegren, 44, for six years before divorcing in 2010, when the golf legend’s infamous cheating scandal left their marriage in ruins.
In February 2010, Woods said he was undergoing therapy for having multiple affairs after being confronted by a furious Nordegren at Thanksgiving in 2009. Woods, who had reportedly taken Ambien, tried to flee in his car but crashed outside of their Florida home.
Before going their separate ways, they welcomed two children together in Charlie, now 15, and daughter Samantha, 16 – with Nordegren going on to have a son, Arthur, with former NFL star Jordan Cameron in December 2019
The ex-couple’s reunion comes after Woods’ former agent Hughes Norton opened up about his old client, recalling how he was ‘zombie-like’ when ending relationships.
Ahead of the release of his tell-all book, Rainmaker, which hit shelves on March 26 in the United States, Norton spoke to Mail Sport about the insight into his meteoric rise and abrupt fall – which ended with Woods firing him in 1998.
‘The solace I can take, which doesn’t provide much, is this: He was an equal opportunity zombie with relationships, his swing coaches, his lawyer, the guy negotiated the IMG representation deal, with caddies,’ he said about the 15-time major winner. ‘When it’s over, it’s over.
‘It is the way he terminates relationships with everyone. Whether it’s girlfriends, whether it’s his former golf coaches.
Woods is believed to have flown to Augusta last week for a practice round in Georgia
‘It’s ironic, really. In a way he’s so good at confrontation on the golf course. If he’s playing you, he will beat your brains out every single time.
‘But when it comes to confronting things like me and other people that are in his life, he has no social skills whatsoever. It’s maddening, actually.’
Last November Erica Herman, Woods’ ex-girlfriend of five years, dropped legal action against the golfer and said she was not a victim of sexual abuse during her time with him.
Woods last played golf at the Genesis Open at Riviera in mid-February, but withdrew midway through citing stomach issues, which was later confirmed to be influenza.
At last year’s tournament in Augusta, Woods withdrew due to struggles with plantar fasciitis and subsequently underwent surgery in New York.
