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It wasn’t pretty for Tiger Woods at Augusta on Thursday.
The 47-year-old posted a two-over par 74 in his opening round at the Masters. Woods appeared to be gaining momentum on the back nine putting together back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, but a bogey on 18 ended his round on a sour note.
The five-time Masters champion consistently found himself in trouble off of the tee putting his surgically repaired leg to the test with uncomfortable lies early on, but it was his short stick that gave him the most trouble with -0.32 strokes gained putting, according to datagolf.com.
“I didn’t have very good speed early,” Woods said after his round. “Had two three puts and consequently ended up a couple over par but I didn’t hit my irons close enough today. Didn’t give myself very good looks. Need to do a better job of that going forward and get myself back in this tournament.”
Woods still displayed an ability to pound the ball down the fairway on the tee reaching up to 326 yards with his driver, but his overall inconsistency with everything after the tee box is what cost him strokes. His two-over 38 on the front nine put him behind the eight-ball with a huge hole to climb out of on the back.
“I feel like I drove it good,” Woods said. “I just didn’t do the job I needed to do to get the ball close. Today was the opportunity to get the round under par and I didn’t do that. Most of the guys are going low today, this was the day to do it. Hopefully [Friday] I’ll be a little bit better and a little bit sharper and inch my way through it.”
The 15-time major champion stepped off of the course nine shots behind the clubhouse leader — and his playing partner — Viktor Hovland.
Woods is making just his second competitive appearance of the season with his first coming on Feb. 16 at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
On Thursday, Woods ended up three shots worse than his opening round at last year’s Masters where he posted a 71 (-1) in his first tournament back from the Feb. 23, 2021 single-car accident that nearly cost him his right leg. He finished the ‘22 Masters in 47th place after posting a +13.
“I think my game is better than it was last year at this particular time,” Woods said Tuesday at his pre-tournament press conference. “I think my endurance is better. But it aches a little bit more than it did last year just because at that particular time when I came back, I really had not pushed it that often. And I had a little window in which I did push it and was able to come back.
“Fast-forwarding, I didn’t really play a whole lot afterwards. Took a little bit to recover from the event. I played in February at L.A. [the Genesis Invitational] and then took a little time off before getting ready for this. I just have to be cognizant of how much I can push it. I can hit a lot of shots, but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what is. I wish it could be easier.”
Woods figures to be fighting to make the cut during his Friday round that kicks off at 1:24 p.m. ET.
“I’m very lucky to have the leg,” said Woods before the tournament, downplaying expectations. “Mobility and endurance — going forward it will never be the same. I can’t prepare and play as many tournaments as I’d like but that’s OK and I’m OK with it…
“I think the appreciation of being able to play the game. I’ve said this before, prior to back fusion I didn’t know [if I could play again]. Happened to win a major along the way. With the accident, it’s been a rough road. Again, it’s appreciation. To come here and play, it means so much. Such a special place in my heart.”
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Woods has overcome obstacles at the famed golf club before and not too long ago. His 2019 win at the Masters after his spinal fusion surgery that put his career in jeopardy came against all odds. However, it may take more than a vintage Tiger at Augusta National performance on Friday to get back into contention at his favorite place to play.
