Walking with the slightest sign of laziness after a catastrophic car wreck that could have cost him his right foot, Woods sent Masters fans into a frenzy on Thursday with his first bird in the tournament.
After five straight games – just lost a bird in the hard number 5 hole when a 15-foot putt out – Woods gave a vintage t-shirt in par-3 sixth.
The ball went to a ridge in the green and stopped 2 feet away from the flag, leaving Woods with a tap-in to push his score to 1-under.
Woods made a sloppy kick in the eighth par-5, where a bad shot and a wrong chip led to 6. But he bounced with a difficult descent from 8 feet to save the par at No. 9.
Woods made the turn with a 36 draw, leaving him three moves behind the first leader Joaquin Niemann.
Tiger Woods starts his 24th Master with the first. pic.twitter.com/gTva7ZznsP
– @ TheMasters
Yes, there was a long way to go.
However, he felt that Woods was already a winner.
This was his first truly competitive tournament since a car wreck in February 2021 damaged his right leg so badly that doctors told him that amputation was a choice.
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 completely bend over to read putts, forcing him to rely more on Caddy Joe LaCava to help him judge the difficult greens in Augusta National.
His career was in jeopardy after the car wreck left him stuck 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.”
“Absolute will and perseverance are unbelievable.”
A timetable pic.twitter.com / r6NnHdZdIg
– @ PGATOUR
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 obvious physical limitations with the screws and rods holding the bones in place on his right foot, Woods said he still 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 for four consecutive days. He walked 18 holes last week – his first big test – during a trip with his son.
He ran at 11:04 a.m. Thursday – 30 minutes behind schedule due to prolonged showers – with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
“I can do it just fine. I have no qualms about what I can do physically in terms of golf,” Woods said Tuesday. “Walking is the hard part. This is usually not an easy walk to start with. Now, given the conditions in which my foot is, it becomes even more difficult.
“Seventy-two holes is a long way and it will be a difficult challenge,” he added. “And a challenge for which I am ready.”
