The winner of last year’s green jacket, Sergio Garcia, quickly ended any thoughts of a repeat performance. On the par-5 15th, Garcia continually attempted to spin the ball toward a front hole location, and five shots wound up falling into the water. Garcia finished with a 13 on the hole, tied for the most in Masters history.
Spieth, on the other hand, was dialed in. After birdieing two of his first three holes, he bogeyed Nos. 5 and 7 to drop back to even. But an eagle on No. 8 got him going. And at Amen Corner, where he lost the Masters in 2016, he started a remarkable run. It was the first time he birdied five holes in a row at Augusta.
He zipped past Tony Finau, who, playing in first Masters, suffered a high-ankle sprain on Wednesday while celebrating a hole-in-one at the Par-3 Tournament. Finau was cleared to play Thursday, and though he was walking somewhat gingerly, his game somehow did not show any ill effects. He had the outright lead for a bit before Spieth overran him.
Conditions were perfect by the afternoon, which played into Spieth’s favor, as one of the last groups to finish. And for the ninth time in just 17 career rounds at Augusta, he holds the lead.
Here’s how the first round of the Masters played out:
Spieth’s Amazing Round Ends With a Bogey
Well, Jordan Spieth’s birdie streak ended. He made somewhat of a mess of things on the 18th (he’s not the first), hitting a tee shot into the woods, then wedge out, then a 3-wood into the gallery. But he still always has the capacity for something brilliant, and he delivered again, deftly sticking his wedge within three feet to tap in for bogey. So Spieth is in with a 66, the ninth time he has led or shared a lead in 17 career rounds at Augusta.
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Spieth Makes It Look Easy at Augusta
Five. Five birdies in a row for Jordan Spieth. The 2015 Masters winner has never done that before at Augusta. But even when things aren’t looking so great — like his tee shot on 17, which hit some tree limbs — the ball still bounced into favorable position in the fairway and he took advantage. Tremendous performance. Now 7-under par.
Spieth Continues Birdie Run to Build 2-Stroke Lead
Make it four straight birdies for Jordan Spieth. He’s so confident with his swing that he didn’t even need to look where his tee shot on the 172-yard par-3 16th wound up. He knew it was good when he hit it and just walked straight over to his caddie, Michael Greller, to grab his putter. He would like what he saw: a tap-in to take a two-stroke lead. The cup must look the size of Grand Canyon right now for Spieth.
Jordan Spieth Makes Three Straight Birdies for the Lead
Conditions at Augusta National have been almost idyllic, and Jordan Spieth is taking advantage. After an errant tee shot left on the par-5 15th, he had to lay up in front of the water. But he stuck his 90-yard approach within just a few feet and made the putt to grab sole possession of the lead at five-under par. Spieth has now birdied three in a row. The eagle on eight really jump-started his round after two bogeys.
Tony Finau Finishes With a Share of Lead
After a beautiful drive on the last hole, Tony Finau made one of his only mistakes on the day, missing left with his approach and then leaving himself with a long putt. But if we’ve learned anything today, it’s that the 28-year-old Tongan-American is pretty resilient. He made the delicate 13-foot putt to record a 68, currently tied for the lead with Jordan Spieth. The 18th had been a great equalizer on Thursday. Four players came to the 18th with at least a share of the lead, and all four had bogeyed before Finau.
Rory McIlroy in the Mix at 1-Under
Rory McIlroy is plodding along steadily at 1-under. His tee shot on the par-3 12th sailed right over the pin and off the green, but he was able to putt it back on to save par. He’s been great off the tee but a three-putt on No. 7 is his only blemish on the round as he heads to the 13th hole.
Tony Finau Leads, Sprained Ankle and All
He suffered a high-ankle sprain, yesterday, while celebrating a hole-in-one in the par-3 tournament. But that hasn’t slowed down Tony Finau in his first Masters appearance. He’s been walking gingerly but is somehow now tied for the lead at four-under through 12.
Henrik Stenson Fall Out of Lead on No. 18
Trouble on the 18th hole cost Henrik Stenson a stroke as he finishes at three-under par, one stroke behind Charley Hoffman and Adam Hadwin for the lead. Stenson has never finished in the top 10 at the Masters, so he changed his strategy by dropping his trusty 3-wood in favor of his driver on most holes. He hit 10 of 14 fairways, so that wasn’t bad. But on 18, he hit a poor chip that left him with a long putt that he missed to bogey.
Jordan Spieth Runs Into — and Out of — Trouble
After birdieing two of the first three holes, Jordan Spieth bogeyed Nos. 5 and 7 to drop back to even par. But he just eagled the par-5 8th for a big rebound as he starts to make the turn.
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Sergio Garcia Takes a 13(!) on the 15th Hole
The defending champion has made his mark at the Masters again. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong kind of mark.
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Sergio Garcia hit five straight balls into the water on the par-5 15th hole and tied a tournament record with a 13 on the hole. That’s an octuple bogey for those scoring at home. He’s now 9-over par.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” García said after finishing with an 81. “It’s one of those things. I feel like it’s the first time in my career where I made a 13 without missing a shot. Simple as that.”
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No. 18: Tiger Finishes at +1, but Ends on Positive Note
That’s a wrap for Tiger Woods. He ended on another good drive on the 18th. Then from 171 yards was yelling for it to bite but it didn’t listen and went just a bit long. He missed the putt coming back and finished with a par to close at one-over. Currently five strokes off the lead, but it could have gone much, much worse after a difficult stroll through Amen Corner. He kept his composure, rediscovered his swing, and finished two-under on the final six holes.
“Seventy three is fine,” Woods told reporters after the round. “By the end of the week there will be a bunch of guys with a chance to win this tournament.”
Bill Pennington: Two takeaways from Woods’s round: Pretty good job of keeping it together today considering he didn’t make a birdie on a par 5; no one can mount a charge at the Masters without making birdies on the par 5s.
No. 17: Tiger’s Confidence Is Coming Back
Woods absolutely bombed a perfect drive down the middle (finally) on 17, leaving him with a wedge in. Looked like a good swing with the approach, which went a little long, but still left him with a relatively straightforward downhill birdie opportunity. Unfortunately he left his putt out to the right. But still, he looked much more confident and in control with his swing, and that’s a nice rebound from just a few holes earlier.
No. 16: Tiger Has Reason to Smile
Finally, a smile from Tiger. A great tee shot on the par-3 16th hit the slope and rolled back to give him an uphill look for birdie from about 20 feet. And he gave it a confident roll and buried it. Big bounceback for Woods, who’s back to 1-over with two holes to play.
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No. 15: Tiger Still Struggling Off the Tee
A critical hole for Woods, the par-5 15th, and he lost it way right off the tee with driver again. He was forced to lob it up over some pine trees to get back toward the fairway. He made a strong recovery to give himself a look for birdie from around 25 feet, but he left it short and had to tap in for par. He’s been grinding, that’s for sure.
But a birdie on 15 would have brought him back to 1-over, while Leishman, the co-leader, finished with a double bogey on the hole. Woods just has not taken advantage of the back-nine par-5s, though, mostly because he is nowhere near as sharp off the tee as he looked earlier in the week.
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Jordan Spieth Off to a Promising Start
It’s still early, but back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 have to make Jordan Spieth feel good about this weekend at Augusta. Spieth won the Masters in 2015 and tied Lee Westwood for second place in 2016.
No. 14: Another Birdie for Tiger, Finally
Woods rebounds with a great birdie on 14. He finally looked sharp with a 3-wood off the tee and then knocked his second shot within a couple of yards. Then he made the putt to move back to 2-over. He needed that.
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No. 13: Who is This Tiger?
The wheels are starting to come off for Tiger. A 3-wood off the tee at 13 also hung out too far to the right and left Woods among some trees on the pinestraw. He then whacked into some patrons on the right side of the fairway. After a decent pitch onto the green, he missed the 12-foot comebacker for birdie. He’s now even-par on the par-5s, which is very un-Tiger-like.
No. 12: Into the Water, Amen
Woods is not enjoying himself at the Amen Corner. His tee shot on the par-3 155-yard 12th went short and trickled into the water. Then he took a while to decide where to drop, looking pretty uncertain. He’s never played No. 12 well in his career, but he did manage to save a bogey with a clutch putt. Now at 3-over heading to No. 13.
Bill Pennington: Tiger’s tee shot on the devilish par-3 12th hole looked fat, with a good chunk of turf exploding beneath and behind the ball. That ill-timed contact likely led to the shot being short — it robbed his shot of a little momentum.
No. 12 is another of Tiger’s least favorite holes. He came to the tee there today 8-over par on the hole in his career.
Sometimes a converted bogey putt is more important than any holed birdie putt. By avoiding a double bogey at No. 12, Tiger still leaves open the possibility of an even par or 1-over-par finish today. Two reachable par 5s remain on the back 9.
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No. 11: Let the Crowd Say ‘Amen’
Trouble for Tiger Woods at Amen Corner. On No. 11, he smacks it into the trees on the right. Curiously, he urges the ball to go “way right,” hoping to get onto the next fairway instead. But no, he’s in the trees. Woods has been playing pretty quickly, but he takes his time over this puzzler, asking that some fans be moved. All he can do is punch it out, and it goes into the crowd again. He still has a way to go to the green.
Woods, now with a direct chance at the green, hits a high lofted chip to within 10 feet. He doesn’t come close on the par saver. The bogey drops him to 2-over. Leishman, who has been nailing his iron shots all day, makes another par and stays ahead of the field.
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Phil Mickelson Opens with a Birdie
Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, dropped a stroke on No. 11 after missing his second shot right of the green and then missing a Seven-foot putt to save par. That drops him back to even for his round. He’s there with Hideki Matsuyama, considered maybe the best player yet to win a major; he has opened with 12 straight pars.
And Phil Mickelson has started off his round on a good note with a birdie on No. 1.
No. 10: Strong Tee Shot. Still Par.
Another strong tee shot on the 10th hole by Woods. “No, no” from Woods on the second shot as his ball heads toward the bunker. But it luckily stays out and lands by the lip. He chips from there to a couple of feet and makes par. He remains at 1-over. Marc Leishman still leads at 3-under.
No. 9: Another Par for Tiger
On the par-4 ninth, Woods’s drive lands in the second cut of rough but is decently positioned. He puts his second shot on the green 30 feet away. The first putt doesn’t break as much as he expected; he makes a four-foot par putt. Marc Leishman escapes from the trees to save par, and his 1-stroke lead.
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No. 8: Another Great Drive, but Where are the Putts?
The eighth is a 570-yard par 5. Woods creams his drive down the center. With 265 to the hole, he can’t quite get it on the green though, and his third shot goes well past the stick. His 20-footer for birdie takes a huge break and is close enough for a three-footer for par. Another par for Leishman; he still leads by a stroke at 3-under.
Bill Pennington: Another striped drive by Woods, long and bouncing high down the 8th fairway. If Tiger was putting as well as he’s been hitting his driver, he’d be one or two strokes off the lead right now. But the putts haven’t been horrible, just not perfect. In other words, it’s just golf. At the Masters.
No. 7: Another Close Call for Woods, but Another Par
At the seventh, Woods has no problem with his 3-wood shot. His approach from 150 yards is on the green but a bit farther than he would have liked, leaving him with a good length putt for birdie. Going downhill again, he just misses it and remains at 1-over. Marc Leishman, playing in Woods’s group, makes a birdie to go to 3-under, still the solo leader, but now by two strokes.
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No. 6: After Great Tee Shot, Woods Takes Par
The sixth is another par-3, with the flag 195 yards away in the back corner of the big Augusta green. Tiger Woods’s shot is a beauty, less than 10 feet for the birdie. The putt just inches left though, and another opportunity is missed. Marc Leishman keeps churning out pars and still leads at 2-under.
Bill Pennington: Really a shame for Tiger. His tee shot at No. 6 will be one of the day’s best from anyone in the field. His missed birdie putt wasn’t stroked left of the hole as much as it broke left of the hole in the final 16 inches.
No. 5: Another Bogey for Woods
At the par-4 fifth, Tiger Woods shouts “down, down” after launching his drive. That tends to be a bad sign, and sure enough, despite the ample landing area, he’s in a fairway bunker. He’s out safely and just sneaks onto the green, but has a long way to go to the hole. He goes past the hole with the putt and was tested by an 8-foot comebacker. Just missed, and Woods has back-to-back bogeys to move to one over par. No change at the top; Leishman still leads at 2-under.
Related Reading: Will Sponsors Return to Tiger?
Despite his troubles and controversies, golf fans seem willing — even eager — to embrace Tiger Woods’s comeback. Will corporate America feel the same? Read this article from Zach Schonbrun.
No. 4: Leishman Takes the Lead as Woods Bogeys
The first par 3 of the day is the tricky fourth. Woods, from 240 yards, puts it in the bunker in front of the green. He extricates himself but has a 15-footer for par. It just misses, and Woods bogeys to drop back to even par. His playing partner Marc Leishman is now the solo leader at 2-under.
Bill Pennington: That’s a botched bunker shot for Tiger at No. 4 and it cost him par. But Tiger hates the fourth hole here — he’s now played it in 16-over par in his career.
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No. 3: Woods Drains a 12-Footer for Birdie
On the 350-yard par-4 third, Tiger Woods goes with a driver and easily clears the fairway bunkers for a good angle to the green. His second shot is merely a pitch, and he lands it for a downhill 12-footer. It’s in! Woods moves to 1-under, joining Justin Thomas and Mark O’Meara a stroke off leaders Vijay Singh and Marc Leishman.
Bill Pennington: I would say there is a very good chance that Tiger made that downhill birdie putt on the 3rd because he learned something from the downhill birdie putt miss on No. 2. He read the speed better on No. 3 green, having gauged it from No. 2. That let the ball find the hole.
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No. 2: Woods Still Even After Near Miss
On the par-5 second, both his playing partners find the bunker, but Woods smashes a drive deep into the fairway. His iron shot from a good position 220 yards away finds a greenside trap, and he stomps his foot in frustration. He blasts out and goes past the flag by 10 feet. The downhill birdie putt breaks dramatically and just misses. If Woods is going to win this week, he needs to go low on the par 5s. This was a good birdie opportunity squandered.
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Tiger Woods Saves Par on No. 1; Singh Leads
The crowd is cleared for Woods’s second shot. He makes it out of the trees and winds up just short of the green. Good shot. His long putt ends up a foot from the hole, and he saves par. Meanwhile, ageless Vijay Singh has three birdies in his first four holes and leads the tournament by three clear strokes.
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Tiger’s First Drive? Off the Mark.
Here we go! Tiger Woods is first to tee off and hits it to the left of the fairway behind the ropes and crowd. Not a good start.
Glimpses of the old brilliance saved Tiger Woods’ first Masters round for 1,089 days: 18 holes with outlandish billing. Amen Corner might have been his burial ground, but he fought back under suffocating scrutiny to finish with a one-over par 73.
Woods, hero to bad-back sufferers and sport’s big redemption tale, returned to the Augusta National club on a wave of unrealistic expectation.
Hype out-ran reality, but Woods repaid some of the faith on the back nine. Simply, it’s enough for him to be back at Augusta on a rising surf of form.
Expecting him to jump from last year’s miseries into a fifth Green Jacket is asking an awful lot.
Back in the clubhouse, Woods revealed he had taken minor painkillers at the turn. “It’s called ibuprofen. My surgeon says to take it all day,” he said, casting doubt on his earlier claim that he now plays “pain free”.
Given the hullabaloo, no modern golfer has lugged more anticipation around this course. The golf researcher Justin Ray counted that Woods’ name had been said 130 times in interviews with other players. The romantic possibility of him winning his first Masters title for 13 years was a relentless theme.
Playing only his second Masters since 2013, four-time Augusta National champion Tiger Woods is taking on Augusta National for the 19th time in his career. In his 18 prior Masters appearances, Woods has often dominated the field, posting 13 top-10 finishes. He last finished T17 at the 2015 event.
It's not just recent history at this course that has patrons excited about this year with Woods atop the betting favorites entering the event, either. Woods has been stout in his most recent return to the PGA Tour. He has top 12 finishes in each of his last three tournaments and currently ranks in the top 10 in strokes gained overall behind golfers like Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.
In what CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz referred to as the most anticipated Masters of our lifetimes, Woods will be the feature. He will be the headliner and the one on whom all our eyes are cast. Though the Masters still runs through Jordan Spieth or Bubba Watson or Justin Rose, it is Woods who will undoubtedly, in some way, steal the show. I can't wait to see how he does it. CBS Sports will be along for the ride with Woods at the 2018 Masters this week, covering everything Big Cat does both on and off the course, hopefully through the weekend. Check into our coverage through our various stories on Woods below.
Want to watch the Masters this week? Stream Featured Groups, Amen Corner, Holes 15 & 16 and On the Range live on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App.
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Jordan Spieth celebrates a birdie putt on the 14th hole during the first round of the 2018 Masters on Thursday. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Back at the scene of his greatest triumph in golf, Jordan Spieth was totally in his element Thursday at The Masters.
The 24-year-old former champion owns the first-round lead after firing a 6-under 66 that included a run of five straight birdies on the back nine. An errant tee shot on No. 18 caused the 2015 champion to give a shot back, but Spieth, who finished second at Augusta in 2014 and 2016 (and already has three majors under his belt), flashed the dominant form that seems to put him at home atop the Augusta National leader board.
Spieth leads by two shots over Tony Finau, and Matt Kuchar, who dazzled the patrons down the stretch, playing his final six holes in 4 under par. Rory McIlroy leads a group of seven players who finished the day at 3-under 69, including Henrik Stenson and Patrick Reed.
Other notable scores include Ricky Fowler and former champs Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson each at 2 under par, last year’s runner-up Justin Rose at even, and Tiger Woods and No. 1 player in the world Dustin Johnson at 1 over par.
Finau looks plenty healthy after Wednesday mishap
Tony Finau’s Wednesday was not for the faint of heart. After spinning in an ace on the 7th hole of the Par-3 contest, he jogged down the fairway, took one bad step and dislocated his left ankle.
He would then reach down coolly to pop it back into place, then unceremoniously withdrew from the event.
Good grief, Tony Finau wrecked his ankle celebrating a hole in one pic.twitter.com/8o7JxVi3xQ — CJ Fogler (@cjzero) April 4, 2018
Thursday, playing on that sore ankle, Finau ran out to the lead at Augusta National Golf Club, with a 4-under 68 in the first round of the Masters. After a bogey at the first, he birdied four of his next seven holes, including the par-five 8th, which he set up with a smooth chip from off the edge of the green to within a club-length of the cup.
Jordan Speith pulled even with Finau at 4 under par after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. Five players, including Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Charlie Hoffman, are all one shot back.
Sergio sputters, puts five in the drink
The defending Masters champion, Sergio Garcia, just dropped down the leader board in spectacular fashion with a meltdown on the 15th hole.
Garcia went into the water not once, not twice, but five times on his way to carding a 13 on the par-5 15th, nicknamed Firethorn.
Live look at Sergio Garcia pic.twitter.com/s1L29eyNlp — Armando (@Armando_Marsal) April 5, 2018
That tied the most strokes ever recorded on any single hole in the history of the tournament.
He finished the hole at 10-over par for the tournament after, mercifully, making a nine-foot putt for octuple bogey, which is now a thing. He fell to 86th place out of 87.
[ Live Masters leader board ]
Garcia was the third favorite to win heading into the opening round, according to win probabilities calculated by The Post’s Neil Greenberg. With one hole, his chances to make the cut dropped from 83 to 3 percent.
Changes at the top
Garcia wasn’t the only one to stumble on No. 15. Marc Leishman, Tiger Woods’s playing partner (more on Woods just below), who held the lead for much of the day, double-bogeyed the hole to fall to 2 under.
Charging to the lead in his place at 4 under were Henrik Stenson, who birdied Firethorn, and Charley Hoffman who carded three straight birdies at Nos. 12-14.
Most intriguing: Tony Finau, who dislocated his ankle Wednesday while celebrating a hole-in-one during the par-3 tournament, was one stroke back at 3 under through 10 holes.
Tiger finishes one-over in first round back at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Wearing black from head to toe, Tiger Woods stepped to the tee at the Masters for the first time in three years on Thursday morning. He promptly sent his drive left into the gallery.
“It was incredible. The people were ecstatic, they were into it,” he told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi after his round. “Then I go ahead and pull a 3-wood up the side.”
Woods recovered nicely, though, sending his second shot rolling up to the green, but it was that type of morning. A birdie at the par-4 third hole was followed by a bogey at the par-3 No. 4 — at 16 over for his career, it’s been his Augusta nemesis — and then another at No. 5.
Woods drew the biggest galleries in the morning, and perhaps some of the most sophisticated in appreciating golf, too. When his delicate pitch shot finished about six feet from the third hole — a middling result — it drew a response of “that’s all right” from one fan and polite-but-restrained applause from the whole gallery. Not a roar, just a patter.
“Dilly, dilly,” said one fan in the gallery, appropriate to the mild applause.
However, when Woods sank his putt for his first birdie of the day, the crowd exploded with enthusiasm and yells of “Go, Tiger” and “Come on Tiger.”
At the long, difficult par-three fourth hole, one of the most difficult distances in golf to estimate because of swirling winds, Woods shot seemed to blank the flag, but came up short in the front bunker. He shouldn’t feel too bad. Jack Nicklaus, and others, have been so badly fooled by the gusts in the pines that encircle the hole that many shot have landed 30 yards short of that bunker.
Woods missed a nine-foot par putt to bogey the hole and fall back to even par. As so often happens at the Masters, a player’s fate at one hole — either good or bad — is immediately replicated at the next hole. This is the course, and the event, for momentum shifts. Woods bogeyed the par-four fifth and relinquished any momentum he’d gained at the third.
Even the par 5s at Nos. 2 and 8 offered no relief: Woods, a combined 26 under par on Augusta’s longest holes for his career, could only find par on both. At the turn, Woods sat at 1 over par for the day. Another bogey followed at No. 11, when his tee shot went way right and his attempt at a recovery ended up in the gallery.
Marc Leishman, Woods’s Australian playing partner, fared much better. Three birdies over the first nine holes gave him an early lead over, among others, 55-year-old Vijay Singh, the 2000 Masters champion who was at 2 under through 12 holes. None of Woods’s Augusta playing partners has ever held a lead after playing a Masters round with the four-time winner. Leishman would become the first.
Woods slipped back further to 3 over after the turn with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12, then a sloppy par on the par-five 13th.
In golf, there's "right." Right of right. And "did it stay on this planet?" At 11, Tiger's drive barely stays on planet, then he hits ugly 2d shot into fans. Makes bogey. Now +2. Now in the Amen Corner, this is his 1st "are his nerves ready for this" moment. (I assume they are.) — Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) April 5, 2018
(I assumed wrong.) Tiger hits it fat, short, into the bank and rolls back into the creek at 12th. — Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) April 5, 2018
Woods bounced back to finish with a birdie on the par-three 16th and four-shot pars on Nos. 17 and 18. He finished with a one-over 73.
“I definitely didn’t score as well as I played,” he told Rinaldi. “I hit the ball better than my score indicates. I feel good. This golf course will take it out of you.”
Mickelson finds the trees
Phil Mickelson teed off in one of the last groups of the day. After he and playing partner Rory McIlroy birdied the first hole, Mickelson found adventure on the second, winding up in the trees and finishing with a bogey on the par-5 hole.
Phil Mickelson playing right-handed out of the trees. pic.twitter.com/mgRUEIzqaO — Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) April 5, 2018
Day finds the drink
Jason Day’s drive at the first hole went right into the trees and dropped down into the full beer cup of an Augusta “patron.” When Day arrived to find his ball, the fan was informed that he would have to give Day the ball — currently at the bottom of his beer — so he could identify it properly, then play it.
The fan did the only logical thing — at least in Georgia, in the morning, on a golf course. He chugged the beer as the gallery cheered. It was Day who finished the hole a little tipsy, making bogey. That was followed by bogeys at the fifth and sixth holes; Day started the day 3 over par after six holes.
A patron finishes his beverage after a shot by Jason Day. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Gary and Jack kick it off
Before 8 a.m. Thursday, the gallery around the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club was five, eight, even 10 deep. And when the two men emerged from the clubhouse — Jack Nicklaus in a red sweater, Gary Player in all black — they rose as if at church, pew after pew after pew.
Player, the South African legend who won three Masters, and Nicklaus, the all-time great who has six green jackets among his record 18 major titles, opened the 82nd Masters as honorary starters Thursday morning, each hitting a straight and true tee shot 15 minutes before the tournament began.
“It’s always a thrill to come out to the first tee,” Nicklaus said. “It’s always a thrill to be part of the golf tournament.”
Fred Ridley, Augusta National’s new chairman, introduced each man — “two of the greatest golfers who have ever lived,” he said — to an adoring crowd. The sign at the tee, which normally lists the players in each group, read “82 Gary Player” above “78 Jack Nicklaus,” indicating each man’s age.
Watch the complete 2018 Honorary Starters ceremony. #themasters pic.twitter.com/SpY5NNCY7y — Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 5, 2018
Nicklaus’s ball didn’t quite reach Player’s halfway up the hill at the first.
“Don’t worry about me outhitting you now,” Player said at a news conference later. “You out-drove me for 50 damn years.”
This is the second year Nicklaus and Player performed the duty of opening the Masters since the death of Arnold Palmer. In 2016, the four-time Masters champion joined Nicklaus and Player one final time, though he simply sat in a chair, no longer able to hit the shot. Last year, some six months after Palmer’s death, the chair remained, draped with Palmer’s green jacket.
The tournament began soon after with the first of 29 threesomes — Austin Cook, Ted Potter Jr. and Wesley Bryan. Ryan Moore, in the second group of the day, birdied the first two holes to take the earliest of leads, although he later fell back. Woods, the four-time champion playing here for the first time since 2015, begins his quest at 10:42 a.m. in a group just ahead of defending champion Sergio Garcia, who tees off at 10:53 a.m.
[ Masters preview: At Augusta National this year, an anticipation unlike any other ]
How to watch
This week isn’t just about Woods. Many of the world’s best players enter the week in strong form. Add in the Woods intrigue, and you’ll want to know how to watch all weekend, a tricky proposition, since this is the tightly controlled Masters. Still, there are a few options. (All times are Eastern.)
ESPN has live TV coverage from 3 until 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and on WatchESPN. As of around 11:30 a.m. Eastern, the network was showing Woods’s shots on a delayed basis.
has live TV coverage from 3 until 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and on WatchESPN. As of around 11:30 a.m. Eastern, the network was showing Woods’s shots on a delayed basis. CBS takes over on TV from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 2 to 7 p.m. (or the conclusion of play) Sunday. Its online coverage can be found at CBS AllAccess. The network will have a preview show (“On the Range”) 8:30-10:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday on CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com.
takes over on TV from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 2 to 7 p.m. (or the conclusion of play) Sunday. Its online coverage can be found at CBS AllAccess. The network will have a preview show (“On the Range”) 8:30-10:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday on CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com. CBSSports.com will also have live streams of featured groups, as well as coverage from Amen Corner (holes 11, 12, 13) and holes 15 and 16. Featured group coverage starts at roughly 10 a.m. Thursday; Amen Corner coverage begins at 10:45 a.m. and holes 15 and 16 coverage begins at 11:45. Consult the full live stream schedule here.
The Golf Channel has “Morning Drive” on TV and online from 6 to 8 a.m. Thursday and Friday, and “Live from the Masters” on TV and online beginning at 8 a.m.
has “Morning Drive” on TV and online from 6 to 8 a.m. Thursday and Friday, and “Live from the Masters” on TV and online beginning at 8 a.m. AT&T/DIRECTV has coverage of featured groups, Amen Corner and the 15th and 16th holes starting at 3 p.m. each day (at 2 p.m. Sunday) on Channels 703, 704 and 705. There’s a 4K package from Amen Corner on Channel 105 and the 15th and 16th holes on Channel 106 starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday and Friday; at noon Saturday and Sunday for Amen Corner and 12:30 for the 15th and 16th holes. You also can stream the coverage.
has coverage of featured groups, Amen Corner and the 15th and 16th holes starting at 3 p.m. each day (at 2 p.m. Sunday) on Channels 703, 704 and 705. There’s a 4K package from Amen Corner on Channel 105 and the 15th and 16th holes on Channel 106 starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday and Friday; at noon Saturday and Sunday for Amen Corner and 12:30 for the 15th and 16th holes. You also can stream the coverage. Masters.com offers much of the same live coverage, too.
Tee times
The full list of tee times for Thursday and Friday is here, along with breakdowns of the top groups.
The weather report
Temperatures climbed to the 60s on a sunny Thursday afternoon, and it will remain sunny and should be even warmer Friday, though the winds will pick up a bit. Saturday’s third round could get a little dicey with rain and even more wind in the forecast, especially in the morning. Whether it will be enough to halt play remains to be seen, but it very well could. The wet weather should help soften Augusta’s notoriously tricky greens.
The skies will clear a bit for Sunday’s final round, though it will be cool with highs in the mid-60s.
Favorites
The Post’s Barry Svrluga identifies five players who could win this weekend, including Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, and yes, Woods. Who could win but won’t? Jason Day heads that list. Read the rest of Svrluga’s breakdown here. The Post’s Neil Greenberg, meantime, gives the highest win probabilities to Johnson, Justin Thomas and Garcia. His explanation is here. Josh Planos analyzes which six holes may decide Woods’s fate.
You might want to wait until the end of the first round to make your choice. As Kyle Porter of CBS Sports points out, the last 12 Masters winners have been in the top 10 after the first 18 holes. The last one outside the top 10? Woods, who was tied for 30th after the first round in 2005 before storming back to win his fourth and most recent Green Jacket.
Bogage, Boren and Bonesteel contributed to this report from Washington.
More Masters coverage from The Post:
Svrluga: When Tiger and Phil play a practice round, it’s anything but meaningless
For 10 bucks, you can eat like a king at the Masters
Augusta National to host a women’s amateur event in 2019
Tiger and Phil teamed up for nine holes of golf. (They won.)
