Tiger Woods showed up at Augusta National Golf Club and insisted he was here to compete. Despite his limited starts – he had played just one full tournament round this year – he was adamant that he wasn’t at the 88th Masters Tournament for ceremonial purposes. He wasn’t here simply to play the weekend and set the record for most consecutive cuts made.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” he said earlier this week.
That means Woods wants another Green Jacket.
From the start of his first round, it was clear he was serious. Woods birdied his opening hole, only the second time in his 26 Masters appearances he has started the tournament with a 3.“I don’t remember the other time, to be honest with you,” said Woods, who also did it in 1999.
By the time he was done with his day, which didn’t start until 3:54 p.m., thanks to a weather delay, Woods was 1-under through 13 holes and in a tie for 17th place. He sits six shots behind leader Bryson DeChambeau, who opened with a 7-under 65. Woods will finish his first round when play resumes at 7:50 a.m. Friday morning.
“The body is OK,” Woods said. “We’ve got some work to do yet [Thursday night].”
Woods has long talked about his knowledge of Augusta National. He knows how to get around the place. He calls on his memory for certain shots. Well, he might have a new one to store in the files.
After missing the fairway at the par-5 second hole, Woods had to hit his next shot left-handed because the ball nestled up against a tree. He slapped it back into the fairway and navigated his way to a par.
t was not his last adventure of the day.
“The wind was all over the place,” Wood said. “It was one of the most tricky days that I’ve ever been a part of. It was hard to get a beat not only on what direction it was going, but the intensity. It kept switching all over the place. It was a very difficult day.”
With the wind swirling, he airmailed the par-3 fourth green and made his first bogey. At the par-5 eighth, after reaching the green in two, Woods thought he had a simple little putt for birdie. As it got near the hole, the wind pushed it and it barely slid in the side door to get him back under par.
“The timing was affecting putts on the greens,” Woods said of the wind.At the 10th, he flared his second shot and needed a short-sided up-and-down from the bunker to save par. He showed off a little more wedge magic at the 11th. He missed the green well short thanks to a flagstick-bending breeze. But then Woods chipped a little spinner to kick-in range to save par.
He needed another escape at the par-3 No. 12, when, you guessed it, the wind got him again. This time, he flew the green and ended up in the pine straw. In what was the theme of the day, Woods was bailed out by his short game. He skipped a chip onto the putting surface, then rolled in the 8-footer to save another par. He made one final visit to the pine straw at the 13th, his last hole of the day. His drive was wide right, but like he did at the second, Woods advanced the ball back into the fairway and made one last par to finish his day.
Now comes the hard part. Woods has a quick turnaround to complete his first round. Then he’ll have a short break and head out for his second. That means Woods will face a 23-hole day on Friday. That’s almost as many holes in competition as he’s played in all of 2024 before arriving at the Masters. Woods played 24 holes in February at his event at Riviera Country Club before withdrawing with the second round in-progress because of a stomach illness.
“We’re going to warm up and just kind of head down there [to No. 14] and start our round,” Woods said of his Friday plan. “I think the flow would be pretty much almost like between 20 and 30 minutes in between rounds, so it’ll be a natural flow from the finish of the first round and continuation of the second.”
By Nick Pietruszkiewicz / Augusta Masters
