SportsPulse: Masters week is upon us and everyone is asking the same question: Can Tiger actually win? Our Nancy Armour breaks down Tiger's chances and who appears to be primed to stand in his way. USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in years, Tiger Woods is a legitimate contender heading into the Masters.
Woods, who last competed at Augusta in 2015, is set to tee off at 10:42 a.m. ET with Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood. He's looking to pick up his fifth green jacket.
Keep up with all of the Tiger highlights as USA TODAY Sports tracks his performance throughout the day.
Hole 1 - Tea Olive, Par 4
Woods was nothing but composed as he strode to the first tee box, dressed in all-black like the great Gary Player, to begin his 10.42 a.m ET group alongside Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood. But his opening shot brought a pained expression, pulling his effort into the foliage on the left and leaving himself with a difficult escape route. His recovery shot came up just short of the green, and the ensuing birdie putt rolled up next to the cup. He'd tap-in for par on the opening hole.
Tiger has some familiar names to chase, with his old rivals Vijay Singh and Mark O’Meara topping the leaderboard at this very early stage. Singh is 55, O’Meara 61. Singh, who last won at Augusta in 2000 and hasn't made the cut the last two years, is at the top of the leaderboard after birdieing three of his first four holes. Ranked 510 in the world, Singh has 34 PGA Tour wins, the last coming in 2008. Born in Fiji but now residing in Ponte Vedra Beach Fla., Singh also has two Champions Tour wins.
Hole 2 - Pink Dogwood, Par 5
After going with a fairway wood on No. 1, he pulled out the driver on No. 2 and hit a beautiful shot in the middle of the fairway. Woods flared his approach shot to the right green-side bunker, but still has a chance to get up and down for birdie, or two-putt to save par. His bunker shot left him a difficult down-hill putt that lagged just past the cup, leaving an easy tap-in par. Woods is even through two holes.
Singh still stands tall above the leaderboard at 3-under, followed by O'Meara and Woods' playing partner Leishman at 1-under par.
Hole 3 - Flowering Peach, Par 4
To quote the movie Tin Cup, Woods is letting the big dog eat early at Augusta! A body language expert could tell you more about Woods’ reaction to his tee shot on 3, but it certainly looked pretty positive. Tiger twizzled his driver in his hands, bounced down to pick up his tee and allowed himself a self-satisfied nod. He smashed another great drive off the tee, leaving a great chance to earn a birdie early in the round. His chip sped past the hole but checked up, leaving a makeable put for birdie.
Cue the first Tiger roar of the week! Woods birdie putt slowly crawled to the bottom of the hole, moving him to 1-under par through three holes.
So far, so good. Historically, the first round at Augusta has been the least kind to Woods, with a shot average of a touch over 72 (even par).
Still in the lead (but not alone), Singh bogeyed No. 5, dropping to 2-under par. Leishman sunk his birdie putt on No. 3 to join Singh atop the leaderboard.
Hole 4 - Flowering Crab Apple, Par 3
Judging by Tiger's reaction off the tee, you'd think he was happy with his shot. Nope. It came up short of the green and landed in a bunker. His recovery shot was good, but great, leaving a lengthy putt to save par that went a tad-bit long.
Woods tapped-in for bogey, moving back to even par.
The fourth is his most hated hole at Augusta, having now played it at a combined 17-over as a pro. Compared to some of the other struggles around the course, he’s holding things together pretty well.
Leishman remained the solo-leader early at 2-under par with a great save at No. 4 after Singh bogeyed No.'s 6 and 7.
Meanwhile, Matt Parziale, an amateur who is also a full-time firefighter, was 5-over through 10 holes. He played a practice round with Woods, his childhood idol, and Fred Couples on Wednesday. He's one of six amateurs in the field.
Hole 5 - Magnolia, Par 4
Trouble off the tee on No. 5 for Tiger as his 3-wood drive flirted with a fairway bunker. In the bunker or not, he'll have a blind shot at the green.
Thursday's first-round tee times
8:15 AM -- Gary Player (Honorary Starter), Jack Nicklaus (Honorary Starter)
8:30 AM -- Austin Cook, Ted Potter, Jr., Wesley Bryan
8:41 AM -- Ian Woosnam (Wales), Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela)
8:52 AM -- Mike Weir (Canada), Brendan Steele, *Matt Parziale
9:03 AM -- Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Kevin Chappell, Dylan Frittelli (South Africa)
9:14 AM -- Bryson DeChambeau, Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), Matthew Fitzpatrick (England)
9:25 AM -- Mark O'Meara, Brian Harman, *Harry Ellis (England)
9:36 AM -- Vijay Singh (Fiji), Satoshi Kodaira (Japan), Daniel Berger
9:47 AM -- Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Pat Perez, Francesco Molinari (Italy)
9:58 AM -- Danny Willett (England), Kyle Stanley, Jason Dufner
10:09 AM -- Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Patton Kizzire, Paul Casey (England)
10:31 AM -- Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer (Germany), Branden Grace (South Africa)
10:42 AM -- Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman (Australia), Tommy Fleetwood (England)
10:53 AM-- Sergio Garcia (Spain), Justin Thomas, *Doc Redman
11:04 AM -- Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Jason Day (Australia)
11:15 AM -- Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin (Canada)
11:26 AM -- Billy Horschel, Chez Reavie, Cameron Smith (Australia)
11:37 AM -- Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Si Woo Kim (Korea), *Doug Ghim
11:48 AM -- Trevor Immelman (South Africa). Ian Poulter (England), Patrick Cantlay
11:59 AM -- Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Ross Fisher (England), Jimmy Walker
12:10 PM -- Fred Couples, Hao Tong Li (China, *Joaquin Niemann (Chile)
12:32 PM -- Larry Mize, Russell Henley, Shubhankar Sharma (India)
12:43 PM -- Bernhard Langer (Germany), Tony Finau, Yuta Ikeda (Japan)
12:54 PM -- Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Webb Simpson, *Yuxin Lin (China)
1:05 PM -- Kevin Kisner, Thomas Pieters (Belgium), Xander Schauffele
1:16 PM -- Gary Woodland, Yusaku Miyazato (Japan), Tyrrell Hatton (England)
1:27 PM -- Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
1:38 PM -- Adam Scott (Australia), Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain)
1:49 PM -- Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren (Sweden), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)
2:00 PM -- Justin Rose (England), Dustin Johnson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain)
Television
ESPN: 3-7:30 p.m. ET
Live action online at Masters.com
MORE FROM AUGUSTA: Tiger will win the Masters because why not?
HE'S BACK: Tiger-mania returns, and his competition is eating it up
TIGER AND PHIL: Woods, Phil Mickelson both say their relationship has changed over time
TEE TIMES: Times for first and second rounds
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Masters Tiger Woods tracker: All the major moments from the first round at Augusta National"
Post a Comment