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Tiger Woods Masters - For all his sins, there is one place where Tiger Woods is still divine. Back in his own heaven of verdant fairways and velvet greens, Woods played the first round of the Masters Thursday as if the last five months have been a dream.It wasn't just a good first step. The round of 68 was Woods' best start ever in the Masters.
Tiger Woods For the first time, Woods broke 70, the score he opened with in three of his four Masters victories. For the first time at Augusta National, Woods made two eagles in one round. For the first time since Thanksgiving, he was back inside the ropes.
"Actually, it felt normal," he said. "I just went about my business."
When one questioner asked what the day meant, looking for something deeper, Woods said, "It meant I'm two shots off the lead. That's what it means. I'm here to play a golf tournament."
He will start the second round tied for seventh place, trailing leader Fred Couples, his Monday practice partner, by two shots. But on a day when old-timers like Couples and Tom Watson ruled (in all, four players 50 and over broke par), Woods reminded them all that he is still Tiger Woods.
Woods, who wore his Buddhist bracelet for protection, agreed that it seemed as though he had never left.
"It felt like that, it really did," he said. "I got into the flow of the round early. I got into the rhythm of just playing and hitting shots and thinking my way around the golf course. At the U.S. Open, after my dad died, at Winged Foot, I didn't get into the rhythm of the round."
The reception for Woods was warm and it helped. He was the only player to receive an ovation when he got to the practice range and when he was announced at the tee, it was pretty loud, if not a roar. But what really got the galleries going were the shots he was hitting.
"It was unbelievable all day," he said. "The people, I haven't heard them cheer this loud in all my years here."
That's debatable. What's not is that there was no rust to his game.
He said he hit only one loose shot all day, on No. 15. He added that had his putting been sharper it would have been a "special round."
His first birdie came on the third hole, his only bogeys on Nos. 7 and 14. He eagled two of the par-5 holes but his best shot, the one that was most vintage Tiger, came on the ninth after a branch knocked down his drive, leaving him 209 uphill yards from the flag with his only option a big hook.
"Depends on which way the wind was going to blow, it was going to be either a 6-iron or a 5-iron and for some reason, it just wouldn't lay down," he explained. "So I went with 5 and hit a nice little sweeping 5 in there. I'm surprised it held because it did come out pretty low."
The shot, the kind that only Woods can hit, brought on a classic reaction. He looked like Sergio Garcia at Medinah as he bounded onto the fairway to see the ball hook about 30 yards, land on the back of the green and funnel toward the hole, leaving him six feet for birdie.
In general, the tees were up, the pins were easier and Woods, who generally plays conservatively at majors, went after them.
"I expected to go out there shoot something under par today and after looking at all the scores, guys were just tearing this place apart," he said. "Looking at the tee setups, the pins were friendly, especially the par-5s. You could see if you drove the ball well, you could be pretty aggressive."
All in all, it was perfect for a comeback.
"We'll see what happens," he said, looking forward to the next three rounds. "I feel like I'm in the right spot. There are so many guys up there. With 30-plus guys under par anybody can win this event. I've got some work to do."
True, but the hardest part may be over.
Tiger Woods For the first time, Woods broke 70, the score he opened with in three of his four Masters victories. For the first time at Augusta National, Woods made two eagles in one round. For the first time since Thanksgiving, he was back inside the ropes.
"Actually, it felt normal," he said. "I just went about my business."
When one questioner asked what the day meant, looking for something deeper, Woods said, "It meant I'm two shots off the lead. That's what it means. I'm here to play a golf tournament."
He will start the second round tied for seventh place, trailing leader Fred Couples, his Monday practice partner, by two shots. But on a day when old-timers like Couples and Tom Watson ruled (in all, four players 50 and over broke par), Woods reminded them all that he is still Tiger Woods.
Woods, who wore his Buddhist bracelet for protection, agreed that it seemed as though he had never left.
"It felt like that, it really did," he said. "I got into the flow of the round early. I got into the rhythm of just playing and hitting shots and thinking my way around the golf course. At the U.S. Open, after my dad died, at Winged Foot, I didn't get into the rhythm of the round."
The reception for Woods was warm and it helped. He was the only player to receive an ovation when he got to the practice range and when he was announced at the tee, it was pretty loud, if not a roar. But what really got the galleries going were the shots he was hitting.
"It was unbelievable all day," he said. "The people, I haven't heard them cheer this loud in all my years here."
That's debatable. What's not is that there was no rust to his game.
He said he hit only one loose shot all day, on No. 15. He added that had his putting been sharper it would have been a "special round."
His first birdie came on the third hole, his only bogeys on Nos. 7 and 14. He eagled two of the par-5 holes but his best shot, the one that was most vintage Tiger, came on the ninth after a branch knocked down his drive, leaving him 209 uphill yards from the flag with his only option a big hook.
"Depends on which way the wind was going to blow, it was going to be either a 6-iron or a 5-iron and for some reason, it just wouldn't lay down," he explained. "So I went with 5 and hit a nice little sweeping 5 in there. I'm surprised it held because it did come out pretty low."
The shot, the kind that only Woods can hit, brought on a classic reaction. He looked like Sergio Garcia at Medinah as he bounded onto the fairway to see the ball hook about 30 yards, land on the back of the green and funnel toward the hole, leaving him six feet for birdie.
In general, the tees were up, the pins were easier and Woods, who generally plays conservatively at majors, went after them.
"I expected to go out there shoot something under par today and after looking at all the scores, guys were just tearing this place apart," he said. "Looking at the tee setups, the pins were friendly, especially the par-5s. You could see if you drove the ball well, you could be pretty aggressive."
All in all, it was perfect for a comeback.
"We'll see what happens," he said, looking forward to the next three rounds. "I feel like I'm in the right spot. There are so many guys up there. With 30-plus guys under par anybody can win this event. I've got some work to do."
True, but the hardest part may be over.
Tiger Woods off to best start
![Tiger Woods off to best start]()
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