Masters 2018: Tiger Woods stutters to one over par after erratic first day at Augusta
Four-time champion shot a round of 73 as he struggled to find his flow at Augusta National
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TIGER WOODS turned back the clock as he played his first Masters round in 1,090 days – but it was the wild and unpredictable Tiger of old who returned to the Augusta fairways.
Actually, Woods did not spend that much time on the fairways, as he sprayed his ball into the spectators, the trees, the pine-straw and every other no-go area on the course.
He eventually limped away from the first round with a one over par 73, and it seemed as if everyone on the course felt as deflated as he did.
It is hard to remember a quieter first morning at any Masters – even the cheers that welcomed the four-time Masters winner onto the first tee seemed muted, compared to the raucous whopping and hollering that greeted him in the practice rounds.
Tigermania has reached new levels during the build-up to this Masters, and this start was a demoralising comedown after Woods raised hopes that he could challenge for a fifth green jacket.
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Woods, 42, had posted top five finishes in his last two warm-up events to prove his fourth back operation had been a complete success. And there were hardly any wild misses to give his army of fans cause for concern.
But even with his driver repeatedly leaking right, a horrible shank on the 11th and a ball in the water at the short 12th, there were still positives for Woods to take.
That shocking miscue at the 11th flew into a group of spectators who were sitting behind the 12th, and probably felt safe as they were nowhere near Woods line to the 11th green, even though he had blasted his drive so far right it cleared the tress down that side of the fairway.
But he seemed worried about his backswing, and as he tried to adjust the ball shot even further right, sending the crowds scrambling to get out of the way.
That led to a bogey five, dropping Woods to two over par. And it looked like he was staring at a double bogey on 12 as he dumped his tee shot into Rae’s Creek, and followed up with a poor chip that somehow stayed out of the bunker at the front of the green.
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Only three of the last 21 Masters winners have recorded a double bogey or worse before pulling on the green jacket. So the crowd held their breath as Woods lined up his 15 footer for bogey.
And he earned the biggest cheer of the day as he ran it into the cup from the fringe to limit the damage. He followed by a determined fist pump, and that seemed to fill him with new hope.
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The 14-time Major champion made birdies at the 14th and 16th to claw a couple of strokes back, and on a day when most of the field found scoring difficult, a 73 was not a disaster by any means.
There was no sign of the stress to come as Woods headed to the opening tee looking incredibly relaxed.
He even stopped on his way from the practice range, took off his glove, and signed it for 52 year old cancer sufferer Shane Caldwell.
Woods’ charitable foundation had been alerted to Caldwell’s condition by a Twitter campaign from his family, saying how much he wanted to meet his hero, and would be allowed out of hospital for the day to attend the Masters.
Woods went out of his way to greet his wheelchair-bound fan, and chatted to him for over a minute before handing him his glove, with the message: ‘Stay strong!! Tiger Woods’.
It is advice the former world No 1 needs to take on board himself as he tries to claw his way back into the tournament over the next three days.