Tiger Woods 'trying every day' to return for the Masters

Two weeks away from the first major tournament on the PGA calendar, Tiger Woods is still holding out hope that he'll be ready to go.

Asked about the upcoming Masters Tournament in an appearance on "Good Morning America" on Monday, the 41-year-old indicated that he hasn't yet ruled himself out.

"I hope so," Woods said, according to Bob Harig of ESPN. "I'm trying. I'm trying every day to get back and play. I love that event. It's meant so much to me in my life. It's the first major I ever played back in '95. It has so much history and meaning to me that I'd love to get back.''

Woods has spent the better part of the past three years working through a series of back issues. A flare-up forced him to withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic in early February as well as a pair of events he had scheduled in the following weeks.

"The mind is sharp I just need to get the body willing to do it,'' Woods added. "That's the hard part. Getting the prep time. I haven't been able to get much prep time in. Train like I used to. Practice like I used to. So it's been hard.''

Woods, who's won four green jackets over the course of his illustrious professional career, tied for 15th in his last appearance at golf's premier event back in 2015.

His most recent win came at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013.