Day 1 Masters Updates: Follow Tiger Woods at Augusta, More News and Notes

Sungjae Im has the opening-round lead at 67, one shot ahead of Cameron Smith. Tiger Woods opened with a 1-under 71.

Author:
Morning Read Staff
Updated:
Apr 7, 2022
Original:
Apr 7, 2022

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- News and updates from Round 1 at the Masters, times ET.

8 p.m.: Play is done for the day at Augusta National, with Sungjae Im your leader at 5 under par, one shot ahead of Cameron Smith. Former Masters champion Danny Willett is in the group at 3 under along with Joaquin Niemann and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

The stormy weather of the previous two days appears to have left town, so Round 2 should begin on time Friday. Here are the tee times, beginning at 8 a.m.

We'll see you tomorrow.

7:08 p.m.: Dustin Johnson made his first bogey of the day at the par-4 17th, dropping from 4 under to 3 under and all but assuring that Im will claim the solo Round 1 lead.

6:50 p.m.: Im is the new clubhouse leader, saving par from the front bunker at 18 for a 5-under-par 67.

6:30 p.m.: After going 3 over in his first 12 holes, Masters rookie Harold Varner went on a second-nine tear with an eagle-birdie-par-birdie run from Nos. 13 through 16 to get to 1 under.

The eagle at the 13th came off of this beautiful shot from the pine straw:

6 p.m.: Im is the outright leader after a birdie at the par-5 15th. He's 5 under on the day, including 4 under on the par 5s.

5:30: Sungjae Im is at 4 under for the second time today after an eagle at the par-5 13th hole. He's tied for the lead.

4:56 p.m.: Dustin Johnson was the first fall Masters champion, might he be on the way to adding a spring green jacket?

The 2020 champion is tied with clubhouse leader Cameron Smith at 4 under, with four birdies in his first 10 holes.

4:50 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler bogeyed his final hole, missing an opportunity to tie for the clubhouse lead. Nevertheless, a 3-under-par 69 is a fine opener and shows that he hasn't lost any of his spring momentum.

In under two months, Scheffler has won three events on the PGA Tour and risen to No. 1 in the world.

4:25 p.m.: With an impressive par at the 18th, Woods is in at 1-under-par 71.

His drive was snapped left into the trees and got a favorable bounce, yet it only measured 193 yards. He advanced it up the fairway, wedged up to about 6 feet and canned the putt.

4:15 p.m.: Smith is done for the day with the clubhouse lead, shooting an unusual 68. He double bogeyed the first hole and the last, but also had four birdies on each side.

4 p.m.: Woods pars the 17th to remain under, with one hole left in his round.

3:51 p.m.: Smith burns the edge from about 12 feet on 17, ending a run of three straight birdies. But he taps for par and heads to 18 at 6 under, still 2 ahead of Im, who's 4 under through 8 holes.

3:44 p.m.: Woods cans a lengthy birdie putt on 16 and punctuates it with his first fist pump of the day. Just like old times. He's back to 1 under with two holes left in his opening round.

3:35 p.m.: Woods pars the par-5 15th, the best remaining birdie opportunity on the back nine. He remains even par for his round.

3:32: Smith knocks it to 3 feet at the par-3 16th and drains the putt to get to 6 under. He remains very much a man on fire.

3:23 p.m.: Cam Smith is a man on fire. He makes another birdie, this time at the par-5 15th, to move to 5 under. He's one ahead of Sungjae Im, who's 4 under through 7 holes.

3:10 p.m.: Players Championship winner Cameron Smith surged to the lead with his second birdie in three holes, making a 3 at the par-4 14th hole. He has six birdies on his round opposite two bogeys to sit at 4 under.

Tiger Woods fell back to even with a bogey after missing a six-foot par putt. After snapping a drive to the left into the pine straw he pulled off a vintage Woodsian lash from 190 yards, launching an iron over the trees to just over the green. But he failed to get up and down for the par.

2:52 p.m.: A two-putt birdie at the par-5 13th put Tiger Woods back in red figures. After a 273-yard drive, his 213-yard second shot landed pin-high left.

An eagle try of some 25 feet came up short, but it was an easy birdie to get to 1 under. Everyone in the group birdied, with Joaquin Niemann getting into a share of the lead at 3 under.

2:38 p.m.: Veteran par for Tiger Woods at the par-3 12th, hitting an 8-iron from 155 yards to the generous left side of the green and two-putting from about 30 feet.

Playing competitor Louis Oosthuizen, on the other hand, saw a rough opening round continue with his tee shot finding the water en route to double bogey. The 2012 Masters runner up was 5 over through 12.

2:30 p.m.: South Korea's Sungjae Im came out on fire in his opening round, birdieing the first three holes to take the early lead.

Im, who qualified by playing in last season's Tour Championship and by winning the Shriners Children's Open last October, finished in a tie for second at his Masters debut in the November 2020 edition won by Dustin Johnson.

2:25 p.m.: The lengthened par-4 11th hole at Augusta National was a focus of much pre-tournament discussion, having been stretched to 520 yards and becoming even more difficult.

Tiger Woods could only laugh on Thursday when, after a 283-yard drive, he hit a 242-yard long iron that landed short of the green.

"I can't hit it any better," he was heard saying with a laugh to caddie Joe LaCava.

From there, Tiger again showed some short-game wizardry with a bumped 6-iron across the green to five feet. He holed the par putt to stay at even and moved on to the famed par-3 12th.

1:59 p.m.: Joaquin Niemann gave back a shot at the 10th hole with bogey, falling back into a tie for the early lead, while Tiger Woods saved par after missing the green.

Woods roped his drive perfectly down the left of the steeply downhill par-4, then an aggressive approach shot to the front hole location hit some 8 feet from the hole but slid off the green.

Woods then chipped up to 4 feet and holed the putt to stay at even par.

1:42 p.m.: A grinding par on the ninth hole gave Tiger Woods an even-par 36 for his opening side.

Woods missed the fairway to the right, with his ball settling on the pine straw under a tree. He hit a low draw that bounded onto the green but caught a front slope and rolled off.

The subsequent chip was a little hot and past the hole, but Tiger rolled in the eight-footer for par.

1:36 p.m.: Joaquin Niemann drew roars from the massive gallery following the Tiger Woods group, thanks to a rare eagle at the par-4 sixth hole.

The Chilean threw a wedge past the front hole location and played the backstop to perfection, rolling it in for just the sixth eagle in Masters history at the 460-yard hole.

Niemann moved into the early lead at 3 under, one shot ahead of four players.

1:27 p.m.: Tiger Woods fell back to even par after a frustrating bogey at the par-5 eighth, a hole where he has traditionally thrived.

Woods found the fairway, then faced a 269-yard uphill second shot. He missed the green short and right, not in a bad spot, but he took four more shots from there.

An initial pitch landed short of the green, then he chipped about eight feet past the hole. The par putt missed on the low side, and just like that Woods had his 12th bogey all-time at the eighth hole — in 24 Masters appearances.

1:02 p.m.: A Masters rookie that qualified via another Georgia tournament is atop the leaderboard midway through his first round.

Talor Gooch, an Oklahoman who played collegiately at Oklahoma State, is 2 under through nine. He has three birdies and one bogey.

Gooch qualified for his first Masters by winning the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, last November.

12:52 p.m.: Tiger Woods' deft touch was on display at the seventh hole, saving par after missing the fairway.

His drive at the 450-yard, par-4 seventh hole bounced right into the pine straw, forcing a cut punch-out shot from 161 yards. That shot settled short of the bunker protecting the front of the green.

Facing a delicate pitch over the bunker to the back-right hole location, Woods made it look easy in hitting it to tap-in range. He remains at 1 under for the day.

12:38 p.m.: After knocking one close at the par-3, 180-yard sixth hole, Tiger Woods is in red figures for the first time in his first round.

Woods stuck an iron to within two feet and knocked in the birdie to get to 1 under.

12:25 p.m.: Tiger Woods is even through five holes, with five pars — the most recent being a little agonizing.

Woods' midrange birdie putt at the par-4 fifth hole looked like it was going to go in the left side of the cup, and Woods took a half-step forward as if to walk it in, but the ball spun off the left edge. He tapped in for par.

Joaquin Niemann remains the low man in the group, at 1 under. Louis Oosthuizen is 2 over through five.

11:58 a.m.: Tiger Woods missed the fairway with his opening tee shot, but he luckily avoided the right fairway bunker and saved a par, as thousands of fans flanked the entire first hole. Woods opened with two more pars to settle into his round.

11:12 a.m.: Paul Casey has withdrawn from the Masters prior to his opening round tee time.

The Englishman had been suffering from back spasms in recent weeks. At the WGC-Dell Match Play in Austin two weeks ago, he played only two holes of his opening match before conceding, then conceded his next two matches.

Casey has a strong record at Augusta National, with four finishes of sixth or better. He was scheduled to play in the 10:53 a.m. tee time immediately before Tiger Woods' group. Now, Bryson DeChambeau and Players Championship winner Cameron Smith will go out as a twosome.

9:45 a.m.: Despite plenty of rain over the last 48 hours, the 86th Masters began Thursday with just a half-hour delay.

That meant first-time honorary starter Tom Watson had to wait just a little longer for his drive alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, but the scene was no less memorable.

That was followed by a birdie on the first hole from the first group, as two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal — playing here for the 33rd time — made a 3 on the opening par 4.

J.J. Spaun, the last player to qualify by virtue of his win last week at the Valero Texas Open, got off to a rough start and was 3 over after four holes.

The weather delay in tee times means the highly anticipated return of Tiger Woods will be at 11:04 a.m.

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