Tiger Woods' first round at the 2024 Masters is finally in the books, and a 1-over 73 is the result. Splitting the fairway with a peeling 3 wood and placing his approach to 10 feet, Woods connected for birdie on the opening hole of his first competitive round in two months and announced his return to the golfing world.
An ideal start turned into more-or-less an ideal Thursday despite the swirling breezes that engulfed Augusta National Golf Club. The 15-time major champion stood in a tie for 17th at 1 under through 13 holes as play was suspended Thursday evening due to darkness after heavy rains delayed the start of Round 1.
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Woods picked up where he left off Friday morning at the 14th tee, and while his speed with the driver often impressed, his short game stole the show in the middle stages of his first round.
Dropping a shot on the par-3 4th, Woods bounced back a few holes later with a birdie on the par-5 8th to make the turn in red figures. His loosest swing of the day came on his approach into the difficult 10th as he flared his second into the greenside bunker effectively short siding himself.
It did not matter for the 48-year-old as he managed to save par and began a streak of three straight saves that looked as if the cat had turned back the clock. Nipping a beauty into the 11th shortly after to save par, Woods was beginning to show off. The short-game heroics didn't stop there as one last par conversion from long of the devilish par-3 12th came before finishing up one hole later at 1 under.
A nifty shot to save par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/olXxD5RSjP
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Woods' return to the golf course Friday morning came with a more methodical step. Looking more intent on his walk, he struggled to find the feel that carried him to the finish line on Thursday. A poor wedge shot on 14 led to a dropped shot and another poor swing on 15 led to Tiger failing to capitalize on the par 5.
His off-the-tee prowess in terms of both distance and accuracy continued into the home stretch, and the iron play flashed momentarily with strong approaches on 16 and 17. Two straight pars preceded one last dropped shot and ultimately put a bow on a 1-over 73.
Woods finds himself inside the top 40 and will now have to experience a quick turnaround before teeing off in his second round. After playing his first 13 holes in 1 under on Thursday, Woods played his last five in 2 over.
A slight improvement with the irons would go a long way for Woods on Friday as he was unable to take advantage of scoring holes when presented to him. Picking up a couple more birdies on the par 5s would be huge for his chances to set the all-time record for most made cuts in a row at the Masters with 24.
