Woods salvages hope
Shoots 73 in return to Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The first standing ovation came on the practice range.
There was more applause when he strolled to the 18th green, though most of the patrons stayed in their foldout seats. Tiger Woods is back at the Masters.
Just not in the position so many of his fans were hoping he would be.
Woods plodded through an unspectacular opening round yesterday, settling for a 1-over 73 that left him seven shots behind leader Jordan Spieth but still feeling good about his chances.
Considering the buildup that accompanied his first competitive round at Augusta National since 2015, it might’ve seemed like a bit of a letdown. Not to Woods.
“I could have easily let the round slip away from me, but I got it back,” he said, brimming with that bravado of old. “And I’m right back in this tournament.”
Woods tried to approach his first shot like any other.
“Hit a little fade up the left side,” he thought.
The ball wound up in the trees left of the fairway.
“It didn’t fade,” Woods said with a sly grin.
As the sun soared higher against the blue sky, the temperature climbing into the 60s, Woods slipped off his black sweater and played the rest of the round in short sleeves.
He struggled on the par5s, normally his bread and butter here. That kept him from taking his score into negative numbers.
He wasn’t complaining. Two birdies over the final five holes helped his mood.
“A 73 is fine,” Woods said. “By the end of the week, this will be a pretty packed leaderboard the way the golf course is set up. They have it right where they want it. It’s really hard to run away from it, but it’s also really easy to lose it out there. By the end of the week there will be a bunch of guys with a chance to win this tournament.”
Woods was also feeling plenty of relief.
“I played in a major championship again,” Woods said, “but also the fact that I got myself back in this tournament, and I could have easily let it slip away. And I fought hard to get it back in there. There’s a lot of holes to be played.”
Unlucky 13 for Garcia
This time, Sergio Garcia offered no excuses.
One moment Garcia was fighting to get back to even par and in contention at the Masters. The next he was writing a double-digit number on his scorecard that effectively ended any chance he had of defending his Masters title.
Even for the mercurial Spaniard, this was uncharted territory.
“It’s the first time in my career where I make a 13 without missing a shot,” he said. “Simple as that.”
Five straight shots into the water on the par 5, 15th hole, four of them from less than 100 yards with a sand wedge in his hand.
“I felt like I hit a lot of good shots and unfortunately the ball just didn’t want to stop (on the green),” Garcia said. “I don’t know, you know, it’s one of those things.”
Garcia is tied with Brockton firefighter Matt Parziale at 81, second last on the leaderboard. Parziale had three birdies, eight bogeys and two double bogeys.
Finau walks on
Tony Finau’s last 24 hours included a little bit of everything: Pain. Embarrassment. Concern. Relief. Determination. Excitement.
The 28-year-old American with Samoan roots battled through a severely sprained ankle and shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round at the Masters after he dislocated his left ankle celebrating a hole-in-one during the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday and then popped it back into place.
“I was just extremely happy that nothing was seriously wrong with my foot,” he said. “Quite honestly, it was a pretty cool moment followed by probably one of my most embarrassing moments and a scary moment at the same time. But I was more than ecstatic to just be walking to that first tee and be playing in my first Masters.”
Finau finished tied for second with Matt Kuchar, two shots behind Spieth.