Tiger Woods Shoots One-Under-Par Round On Masters Return
Making his first appearance in 508 days, Tiger Woods produced a quite remarkable one-under-par first round at Augusta National
On Thursday 7th April, Tiger Woods teed it up at The Masters for his first competitive start since November 2020 following a serious car crash that very nearly led to a right leg amputation. Not only did the five time Green Jacket winner return to Augusta National, but he put on a display which looked like he had never left.
The return of Tiger to competitive action had arguably been, not just the biggest talking point in golf, but also in sport, with fans being left in suspense on whether he would return or not at The Masters. However, at Augusta National, Tiger showed his class, with three birdies and two bogies, resulting in the 46-year-old signing for an under-par round of 71 and a round that, 14 months ago, we thought we would never see!
A one-under-par round of 71. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Ns4OqteF33April 7, 2022
All week, patrons had been coming in their thousands to watch Tiger tee it up in a practice round. On Thursday morning, those scenes were replicated on a huge scale, with 10,000+ patrons following the 15-time Major winner around the 18 holes.
Teeing off the first to rapturous applause, Tiger would make a superb up-and-down that almost looked like he had never been out of the game. Following the par, three more followed before the first highlight occurred at the par-4 5th, a hole that the 46-year-old has struggled with in the past at Augusta National.
Stunning a long-iron from 218-yards, Woods' birdie putt looked like it was in all the way as he began walking after it. However, golf is a cruel game and it doesn't matter who you are it will bite back. As the ball horseshoed out the hole, that appeared to be the case. For Woods though, it didn't phase him, with his tee shot at the next, the par-3 6th, finishing a foot from the hole and a near hole-in-one!
Tiger looked in the zone, with a superb up-and-down at the 7th only building momentum. On the 8th though, we were shown a glimpse of perhaps a little bit of rust, with Tiger 50-yards from the green in two on the par-5. He would end up walking off with a bogey, a moment that showed his game is still getting back to the level that he is used to.
A run of pars followed, with Tiger heading into Amen Corner at level-par, a fair reflection of the golf that had been played over the first 11 holes. His second birdie followed soon after though, with two amazing shots on the 13th leading to an eagle attempt from 25-feet.
Get the top Black Friday deals right in your inbox: Sign up now!
The hottest deals and product recommendations during deals season straight to your inbox plus all the best game-changing tips, in-depth features and the latest news and insights around the game.
Annoyingly for the 15-time Major champion, he would leave it short, with a bogey on the following hole only compounding the annoyance further. That soon filtered out at the par-3 16th, with a 25-foot birdie putt dropping and the iconic Tiger fist pump on display, to the delight of the 10,000+ patrons surrounding the green.
There was yet more class left from Tiger at the par-4 18th, with a poor drive being followed by a lay-up at the 465-yard hole. In true Tiger style though, he would produce an up-and-down for a one-under-par first round that left me and everyone else in complete amazement.
A post shared by The Masters (@themasters)
A photo posted by on
Speaking after his round, Woods revealed: "I did not have a very good warmup at all. I hit it awful. As my dad said, did you accomplish your task? Did you warm up? I said yes. Now go play. That's exactly what I did. I blocked it out and felt, hey, I'm warm. Go play. Let's just go get it done. You know where to put it. Execute each shot."
Despite the poor warm-up, Woods looked extremely steady at Augusta National: "As the round built, I was able to get into the red. I got out of there and got to even-par but made two stupid mistakes at 8 back-to-back, loss of concentration a little bit there, but I fought back. For the day, to end up in the red, I'm right where I need to be.
"To hit the shots in the right spots -- I know where to hit it to a lot of these pins, and I miss in the correct spots and give myself good angles. I did that all day, and I was able to make a few putts and end up in the red like I am now. I'm only three back. We've got a long way to go. This golf course is going to change dramatically -- cooler, drier, windier. You can hear the SubAirs on out there. This golf course is going to change, and it's going to get a lot more difficult."
Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
-
Graham DeLaet Facts: 20 Things To Know About The PGA Tour Pro Turned Broadcaster
Graham DeLaet had a successful career in the game, but after injuries took a toll, he has stepped into a broadcasting role in recent years - here are 20 facts about him
By Mike Hall Published
-
Arron Oberholser Facts: 15 Things To Know About The PGA Tour-Winning Golf Channel Broadcaster
Arron Oberholser left his PGA Tour career behind to take up life as a Golf Channel broadcaster in 2013 – here are 15 things to know about him
By Mike Hall Published
-
Fresh Drone Images Show Progress Of Augusta National Clean-Up Operation Following Hurricane Helene
Per photos via Eureka Earth on X, several holes at Augusta National appear very different to normal after damage to the course caused by Hurricane Helene
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion Confirms He Will Give Up Major Starts In Favor Of Immediate DP World Tour Chance
China's Wenyi Ding confirmed he will be leaving college and giving up starts at The Masters and The Open Championship in favor of immediately starting his pro career
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
'A Lot Of Damage' To Augusta National But Masters Expected To Be Held As Planned
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley says The Masters will be staged on time despite extensive damage to the course caused by Hurricane Helene
By Paul Higham Published
-
This Much-Loved Masters Feature Just Made Its Full LIV Golf Debut
The 'Any Shot, Any Time' feature officially launched on the LIV Golf app in Andalucia as Sergio Garcia claimed victory at Valderrama
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Are Masters Champions Exempt For Life?
Winning the Masters comes with a lifetime exemption to future tournaments
By Joel Kulasingham Published
-
The Amateur Playing In His Seventh Major And Third Masters This Week
Career amateur Stewart Hagestad has made it back to Augusta National after another US Mid-Am victory
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Scheffler The New Tiger? Time For Woods To Say Goodbye? 10 Takeaways From The 2024 Masters
We highlight ten of the key stories to come from the 88th edition of the Masters
By Michael Weston Published
-
Tommy Fleetwood Banks Huge Sum For Local Augusta Caddie After Englishman's Best Masters Result
Gray Moore is a former Augusta National caddie master who was helping Fleetwood out after his regular caddie Ian Finnis was forced to stay home
By Jonny Leighfield Published