He could not bend over to read the beams in the difficult greens of Augusta National. Otherwise, there was nothing to indicate that Tiger Woods nearly lost his right leg 14 months ago in a devastating car wreck. Woods’s biggest comeback started with a dynamic start on Thursday, when he made a 1-under 71 in the opening round of the Masters. “To get to the red,” he said confidently, “I’m just where I need to be. As Woods hurried to the club after an exhausting day spanning almost 5 1/2 hours, he heard screams “Way to go, Tiger!” by the spectators. He was just three moves away from the lead – with about half the pitch still on the track – after making three birds, a pair of buds and a bunch of solid groups – many of which were saved by his skillful touch around the green. Woods did one last act of Houdini at No. 18. After pulling out his T-shirt and shooting at the tall pines on his right, he had to lie down just before the green. But he dropped to 6 feet and rolled on the putt to keep his score below par. “I felt good,” Woods said. “Once the adrenaline rushed in and I entered my own little world, I knew I had to be able to handle business.” Yes, there is still a long way to go. Woods still has to prove that his body can bounce day by day – four of them, by Sunday. But he felt like he was already a winner. “You just can’t help but watch him,” said Cameron Smith of Australia, who equalized for the lead after the 68th shot. “It’s inspired by him coming back and playing golf.” With storm clouds giving way to the glorious spring sunshine, Woods defied everyone’s expectations. Except for his own. When Woods gave an emphatic right-handed clutch after rolling on a 30-foot bird in the 16th hole, it looked like old-fashioned time on one of the holiest golf courses. From the breakdown of his marriage to multiple surgeries, Woods always found a way to recover. He does it again, he almost looks like the guy who won five green jackets and defied the odds over and over again. A bird at No. 6 drove the crowd into a frenzy. A sloppy bump in par-5 eighth brought some sighs, but Woods’ brilliant short play prevented him from posting one of those big numbers that could mean disaster in Augusta. He made it clear that he had every intention of winning when he decided to make the Masters his first competitive tournament since that horrific car wreck in February 2021 led him to say that doctors said he might need to amputate his right leg. Woods started the round with five straight games – just lost a bird in No. 5 hard hole when a 15-foot kick came out – before giving a vintage t-shirt to par-3 sixth. The ball went up a ridge in the green and stopped 2 feet away from the flag, leaving Woods with a trick that put him in red numbers for the first time. A wedge shot and the wrong brand led to a boom at No. 8, a hole that should be a great opportunity for a bird. “A loss of concentration there,” he groaned. But Woods came back with a difficult descent from 8 feet to escape to No. 9. Woods insisted that his hands still held the stunning touch that helped him win 15 major titles – the first of which 25 years ago in this particular place – and set a record of 82 wins on the PGA Tour. Starting at No. 7, he lost the green in five straight holes, but continued to recover with his short irons and potter. Wearing a pink shirt and black pants, Woods was greeted with thunderous applause when his name was announced in a huge gallery surrounding his first T-shirt. Woods failed to make firm contact with his first shot: a 264-yard track that went off behind a shelter on the right side of the road. His approach rolled from the front of the green, but he sank a 10-foot ball to save the par, bringing another huge roar from the crowd. Woods walked slowly, knowing that he was facing four difficult days on an extremely hilly course if he manages to make the cut. He could not bend over completely to read putts, forcing him to rely more on Caddy Joe LaCava to help him judge the insidious greens in Augusta National. But these felt like small inconveniences after everything he went through. Woods’s career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him stranded in a hospital bed for three months. Woods was out of the limelight until last November, when he posted a video of a club rocking with a simple message, “Making progress.” The lone tournament in 508 days since he last competed was a fun event in December, in which he rode in a stroller and was paired with his 13-year-old son Charlie. Despite the long dismissal and the obvious physical limitations with the screws and rods still holding the bones in place on his right foot, Woods clearly believes he can win his sixth green jacket. At 46, he would be the oldest Masters champion in three weeks against Jack Nicklaus. The biggest question is how Woods holds more than 18 holes in four consecutive days, assuming he makes the cut as he always does in Augusta. He walked 18 holes last week – his first big test – during a trip with his son. Playing an entire tournament will be much more difficult. Now what? “A lot of ice,” he said, breaking into a big smile. Like the good old days.
