Tiger Woods off to solid Masters start, now faces 23 holes on Friday
Tiger Woods moves to 1-under par thru 13 holes before play is suspended due to darkness.
Tiger Woods moved to 1-under par thru 13 holes in the first round of The Masters before play was suspended at Augusta National.
Woods, 48, hauled himself to 1-under par in T17 before darkness brought an end to his round by the time he made par on the 13th.
Tee times were pushed back by two and half hours earlier in the day due to heavy storms and rain.
Play eventually got underway at 10.30am local time instead of the planned 8.30am.
Tiger Woods put on a short-game clinic to close out his Masters Thursday. #themasters pic.twitter.com/vW8ikbfKJ3
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2024
The 15-time major champion produced some very solid golf in his first competitive round back since withdrawing due to illness at the Genesis Invitational some eight weeks ago.
Most importantly though, Woods looked as though he was able to play and walk much more freely than previously seen on the PGA Tour.
He also put on a short-game clinic with some clutch par saves at 10, 11 and 12.
Woods opened with a birdie on the par-4 1st when converting his putt from 10 feet, and he then recovered after driving right up against a tree on the par-5 2nd with a par.
He handed back a shot the par-3 4th but then moved back into the red with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 8th.
The five-time Masters champion then made five pars in a row before the hooter sounded for a suspension of play.
A nifty shot to save par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/olXxD5RSjP
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
If Woods makes the halfway cut on Friday, he will set a new outright record for most consecutive cuts made (24) at The Masters.
He currently holds the record with Fred Couples and Gary Player on 23.
"The wind was all over the place," Woods told a pool of reporters on day one.
"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, and it kept switching all over the place, and then you had to -- the timing was affecting putts on the greens. It was a very difficult day."
Woods finds himself six shots off the pace as it stands, currently set by LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau who went round in an excellent 65 - his lowest ever at Augusta.
World No.1 and red-hot tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler trails DeChambeau by one following a flawless 66.
Woods will now return at 8am local time on Friday morning to complete his first round.
That is 1pm UK time.
Woods will then get a small break after the first round before heading back out to play his second round.
It will be a big test for Woods' battered and bruised body with 23 holes to play on Friday.
But he feels good.
"It was nice to finish up 13," said Woods.
"We're going to warm up and just kind of head down there and start our round, and 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."
He added: "The body is okay. We've got some work to do yet tonight."
Woods is attempting to tie Jack Nicklaus' record of six Masters wins.
