Tiger Woods, on his first competitive run since his car accident 14 months ago, started his chase for a sixth green jacket with a 1-under 71
There were wild fist and lip pumps, extreme swings and misses, times when Tiger Woods looked as good as ever, and other times he looked like a guy who hadn’t been in a competitive championship in 508 days.
Everything that happened Thursday at the Augusta National added to Round 71 for the five-time champion, making a miraculous return to the Masters just 14 months after his near-fatal car crash.
Woods had left the Tour since the Masters in November 2020, but he clearly hasn’t forgotten. The eyes of the huge gallery of sponsors were on him hard as he climbed into the tee box at 11:04 AM ET alongside Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann. On the first hole, after letting his drive to the right, Woods showed he wasn’t feeling any nerves as he calmly rolled a 10-foot-long shot to save the ball.
And that brilliant comeback, perhaps the most likely comeback run, was off. Woods cut his first four holes and his first bird appeared to be rolling in the direction of the hole. But it soon faded, and the loud groans of shepherds echoed around Augusta National. He made up for it on the sixth hole three times as close as two feet. This time, he finished attempting the jumper.
Woods, who 25 years ago was able to beat this course, seemed hesitant to try again. He was content to pop a wooden piece on the tee and keep the ball in play. He averaged 271 yards from a tee and hit seven of 14 passes. In the 15th inning, he went with 3 woodcuts and hit a nice shape, right to left, and ended up safely in the fairway. From there he was able to hit the green and two-hit ball of the bird which brought him to one under one for the round.
However, the highlight came on the 16th, a sight arguably the most memorable shot of his career. He left his approach on the right level but at 29 feet, he played the breakout shot from right to left perfectly and watched it enter the middle of the cup. The patented grip pump that, a year ago, seemed like it would never be seen on the Augusta National is back.
Woods’ tour has not been all positive. On the eighth hole with five sticks, he left his third shot off the green before cutting nine feet behind the cup, making him his first bogey of the round. And on the fourteenth day, after a great rupture of the pine straw into the green, he again passed his blade through the hole and misses the blows in equal measure.
Tiger Woods in strong position at The Masters after 18 holes
He admitted then that he didn’t feel well warming up at the training range, but as soon as he got his hands around the club again, he’s back where he belongs. “Like my dad said, ‘Did you get your job done? Did you warm up?’ I said, ‘Yes, now go play. That’s exactly what I did,'” he told CBS’ Michael Ives at Butler’s Cabin after his tour. “Let’s just go and get it done. You know where to put it. Do every take… for a day, until I end up in the red, I’m where I want to be.”
Woods showed no signs of the debilitating leg injury that kept him in a hospital bed for months last year. He swung freely and easily, his pace the same as ever. His return completely removed all other competitors from the spectators; Few around the Augusta National paid any attention to the fact that Cameron Smith and Scotty Scheffler, the two most exciting players on the planet coming to the tournament, climbed to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday.
The first round of the Masters 86 was all about Woods and his comeback. Just a few weeks ago it seemed impossible when scenes of his disfigured Genesis SUV appeared on television this past February. But if Thursday showed anything, it’s this: Don’t underestimate golf’s greatest champion.
[ad_2]
