Tiger Woods Shoots 71 at Masters in First Competitive Round in 508 Days
The evaluation of Tiger Woods’ first round at the Masters Thursday comes from two points of view. One, how did he fare given where he was 14 months ago after his February 2021 car crash? The other, how do you rate his performance compared with Tiger Woods?
The fact that the completed 18 holes on a difficult walking course given his physical condition, 508 days from his last competitive round, with a score of one-under 71 is nothing short of remarkable from anyone’s perspective. For much of his round, he was only one or two shots out of the lead.
From a technical point of view, Woods played a careful, conservative round of golf around Augusta National. He didn’t hit many bad shots, nor did he hit many great ones. He missed the fairway and the green at the first hole and holed a 10-footer for par. His second shot at the par-4 5th was within six feet and his birdie putt violently lipped out for birdie.
His tee shot at the par-3 6th was within five feet, which he made for his first birdie of the day. But at the par-5 8th, his 50-yard third shot didn’t reach the green. His chip raced eight feet past and he missed the par putt. He reached the par-5 13th in two and made birdie but followed that by missing the fairway and green at the 14th, making bogey.
His tee-shot at the par-3 16th was about 20 feet right of the hole but he made his only putt of any length all day for a birdie.
His worst shot might have been the tee shot at the 18th, pulled far left into the trees. His best shot might have been his third at the 18th, from 76 yards, which he hit to six feet and made the putt for a closing par.
Physically, Woods showed only one sign of obvious discomfort when he grabbed his back after a pull hook into the trees off the tee at the par-4 9th. He was unable to completely squat down to read putts. His gait was far from normal and most noticeable as he climbed the hill to the 18th green.
When he finished his round, he exited to the rousing cheers of the patrons. On the leaderboard, he was in the top 10, three behind clubhouse leader Cameron Smith.
What remains is the physical aftermath. How will the pain and swelling be treated and how will he get ready for Friday’s second round? If Thursday’s first round was highly anticipated, Friday is bound to be equally so.
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