AUGUSTA: Career timeline of Tiger Woods, who is chasing a record-equalling sixth Masters victory 14 months after suffering career-threatening leg injuries in a California car crash:

-- August 1996: Turns pro after an outstanding amateur career and is named the PGA Rookie of the Year.

-- April 1997: Wins his first major title at the Masters, becoming at 21 the youngest-ever winner at Augusta National. Two months later, he takes the world number one spot for the first time.

-- June 2000: Wins US Open at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes and then becomes the fifth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the British Open by eight strokes at St Andrews.

-- April 2001: Wins his second Masters title and completes the "Tiger Slam" as the first golfer to be reigning champion of all four majors simultaneously.

-- April 2002: Successfully defends his Masters crown and in June he goes on to win his second US Open at Bethpage Black.

That makes him the youngest golfer in history to win seven majors.

-- September 2004: After failing to win another major in 2003 and 2004, Vijay Singh replaces him as world number one after a record run of 264 weeks on top.

-- April 2005: Woods emerges from "slump" to win a fourth Masters, defeating Chris DiMarco in a playoff. He then wins a second British Open by five strokes at St. Andrews. With his 10th major title he joins Jack Nicklaus in being the only players to win all four major tournaments at least twice.

-- May, 2006: His father and guiding force Earl Woods dies at 74, but the following month, Woods wins his third British Open at Hoylake for his 11th career major

-- June 2008: Two months after knee surgery, wins the US Open for his 14th major title, defeating Rocco Mediate in a playoff at Torrey Pines. He promptly announces that he needs more knee surgery and takes the rest of the season off.

-- February 2009: Nine months later he returns to action, but in November of that year a car accident outside his Florida home unearths a series of infidelities that wrecks his marriage.

Rivals say Tiger can handle difficult walk at Masters

Takes an "indefinite break from professional golf" to get his life back together.

-- April 2010: Returns to action at the Masters, where he finishes fourth but injuries mount over the course of the year and his ranking starts to tumble.

-- March 2013: Woods regains his form in 2012 and the following year, his eighth win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational sees him regain the world number one spot.

-- March 2014: After a slow start to 2014, Woods injures himself during the Honda Classic and subsequently skips the Masters for the first time to undergo back surgery. Loses world number one spot to Adam Scott in May.

-- February 2015: Struggles to get his season going and after pulling out injured from a tournament at Torrey Pines, says he will take another break from competition.

-- September/October 2015: Woods has microdiscectomy to remove spinal disc fragment pinching a nerve, with follow-up procedure to relieve lingering discomfort.

-- February 2017: Back spasms prompt Woods to withdraw from second round of Dubai Desert Classic, cutting short his return from a 16-month injury layoff.

-- April 2017: After missing the Masters, Woods announces he had yet another surgery to alleviate pain in his back and leg.

-- May 2017: Woods arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Jupiter, Florida.

-- January 2018: Woods makes his return to the PGA Tour with a shared 23rd place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torry Pines, California.

-- April 2018: Woods finishes tied for 32nd at the Masters, the first major appearance of his comeback.

-- June 2018: Woods suffers a setback after missing the cut at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, posting a 78 followed by a 72.

-- July 2018: Woods bounces back from his US Open disappointment, sharing sixth at the British Open.

-- August 2018: Woods announces his return to major contention with a second place finish at the PGA Championship, just two back from winner Brooks Koepka.

-- September 2018: Woods is named in the US Ryder Cup team. He follows with a victory at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

-- April, 2019: : Woods wins the 83rd Masters, his fifth triumph at Augusta National coming 14 years after his fourth to end an 11-year major championship drought.

-- October 2019: Wins inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan on return from latest knee surgery to equal all-time record of 82 US PGA Tour wins set by legend Sam Snead 54 years ago

-- December 2019: Captained and played on the triumphant United States team that defeated the Internationals in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, winning all three of his matches.

-- February 2021: Suffers severe lower right leg injuries in rollover car crash near Los Angeles. Woods spent three months in a hospital bed and months regaining his ability to walk.

-- April 2022: Announced his plans to compete for another Masters crown on his surgically repaired leg in his first official event since the accident.