Between the final round of golf at the Masters in November 2020 and this first round of the 2022 Masters, Woods had another back surgery and almost lost his leg. So what did he do after a year and a half away from pro golf at the highest level? He went out and shot a 1-under 71 to beat the field average by three, of course. Considering Woods’ stature (the best player of all time), what he has accomplished at Augusta National (five green jackets, no missed cuts in 21 attempts as a professional) and the adversities he faced (“things … I do not wish on nobody “), is a 71 that will remain as one of the most remarkable rounds in the history of the Masters. On paper, it’s a good score in a great tournament that could lead to something even better later in the week. The paper does not contain a frame, however, and it takes the context of a man who needed almost a prosthetic leg to walk again. It felt like I was living a story from the first shot. Thousands of spectators watched the first hole in Augusta National to watch the 973rd-ranked golfer hit his first official shot in more than 500 days. Tiger gave early with a long coat that refreshed the rolling gallery and seemed to energize someone who certainly did not need much more adrenaline. After five consecutive games to start his round, the Tiger almost looked at an ace in the hole at No. 6 and switched to the red numbers for the first time in 100 weeks. A sloppy boogie in par-5 8 pushed him back even as he closed his first nine and walked into a nine-hole stretch at the back of Augusta that made him as famous as he was. Three more lots to start on that side before an easy bird at No. 13 and a bobble at No. 14 that came as a result of a pull-up ride. The Tiger hit only nine lanes a day, and his driver was often more useful to him as a walking device than as a tool to pound his ball around Augusta National. Tiger saved a ridiculous parity in par-5 15th, after his first two shots remained and remained even more. In par-3 16th, he got a nice shot on the back right shelf that was better than it probably looked on ShotLink. As he walked towards the 16th green, the spectators who lined this hole stood one after the other – as if making the wave from a t-shirt to green – to applaud him. Not for the shot he had just received, but because they knew how absurd it was to fire shots a little over a year away from the hospital bed. “If you had seen what my foot looked like where it is now, the photos – some of the men know. They have seen the photos and they have come home and seen it.” said Woods after his round. “To see where I have gone, to see – to get from there to here, was not an easy task.” The Tiger gave the gallery what they came to see with perhaps the purest blow he had hit all day, one he scored with a right bird pump. It looked like he had taken the lead one Saturday afternoon. A simple parity and a miraculous rebound later, and Woods pulled out a 71 that will not take a second look at his final chronicles, but still left your jaw on the floor if you saw it as it happened. Woods looked tired as he closed his round, just as you would expect a man whose body looks twice as big as his birth certificate says to take a walk around a mountainous old kindergarten. His game also looked like he had not held a pencil and card in his hand before Thanksgiving 2020. There were rough, almost random touches with the big sticks he had to cover around and in the green with a pair of hands holding every major golf trophy ever. It was a 71 that a less experienced, more impetuous player would have turned into 75. “To play this golf course and do what I did today, to … hit the shots at the right places – I know where to hit it on many of these pins, and I miss the right points and I give myself “Good angles,” Woods said. “I did it all day, and I was able to do a few hits and end up in the red as I am now.” Tiger was three behind entering the club and will be four behind in front of the 2nd round. He is unlikely to win this golf tournament, as the moderate difficulty in walking on Thursday afternoon could turn into complete relaxation by the end of the week. In addition, it is quite fancy from the t-shirt that even the short game of Seve Ballesteros in its acne could not shoulder this load for 72 holes. However, with his spectacular performance on Thursday, Woods proved two things. He can make the cut and proceed to claim in this tournament. Woods beat the man who went to Augusta National last week, Justin Thomas, with five hits on Thursday, after JT spent the first three months of the year looking like the best ball striker on the planet. The Tiger can and will beat enough of this field through 36 holes to create a little hope by Saturday morning. It also proved to be something more substantial that it’s seemingly proves every year since it won this tournament 25 years ago. Woods turned his nails from the hospital bed into a wheelchair to lie on his back in his palace courtyard, listening to birds chirping blocking the same creatures out on Thursday as he unloaded every ounce of intellect, stubbornness and dexterity he had left. body. “[Walking the course] “It didn’t get any easier, let me put it this way.” “I can shake a golf club. Walking is not easy, and it is difficult. Like I said with all the hard work, my leg will be hard for the rest of my life. That’s right, but I can do it. This is something I am very lucky to have this opportunity to be able to play, and not only, play in the Masters and have this kind of reception. I mean, the place was electric. “ Performing this masterful performance, the Tiger reminded us that never before in sports was the will of any man so great to be so great in one thing. His desire to play and compete is twice that of men half his age who have not achieved 10%. Seeing Woods hiding an injury that must destroy him from within and exterminate him in a 71 that would have felt like a miracle just a month ago is seeing someone triumph over all the external forces screaming at him for what he has done. enough . It would certainly be easier for Woods to sit at home with his family to watch this Masters and send JT an embarrassing GIF after his horrible 76 on Thursday. Appearing he overcame a lot, but in doing so he chose the most difficult route. The Tiger chose the path that included more hassle and more frustration and more pain because he is obsessed with the game and bends it according to his will. Will Thursday 71 tell this story in 50 years from now? It is impossible to say. But if you watched or watched the Woods tour, you will remember him as one who was bigger by day and week. was (another) interpretation of it that you will simply never forget. Watch the Masters 2022 live stream until Sunday with Masters Live as we watch the world’s best golfers across Augusta National with Selected Teams, check out the famous Amen Corner and see the leaders around the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports .com, the CBS Sports app and Paramount +.
