Tiger Woods taking part in the Masters once more, his shirt as pink because the azaleas at Augusta National, would have been sufficient cause to have fun Thursday.
It felt that method to him, too.
Woods twirled his membership after good pictures, and there have been sufficient. He pumped his fist after his longest birdie putt. And then normalcy gave method to actuality when he used his wedge as a strolling stick for his once-battered and now put on legs for a last climb towards the 18th inexperienced.
Another par save for a 1-under 71, 4 pictures behind Sungjae Im.
But this wasn’t nearly a rating. Woods was competing in a significant, the primary time in 508 days since a automotive crash some 14 months in the past that shattered his proper leg. That a lot was clear when requested if merely with the ability to play felt like a victory. His reply: “Yes.”
“If you would have seen how my leg looked to where it’s at now, the pictures — some of the guys know; they’ve seen the pictures — to see where I’ve been, to get from there to here, it was no easy task,” Woods stated.
It does not determine to get any simpler the remainder of the way in which.
Still to return is Friday, the primary time he may have walked 18 holes at Augusta National on consecutive days for the reason that accident with what he described as “lots of ice” in between.
Ahead of him are a group of gamers who’ve received majors, who’ve received at Augusta, and who’ve spent the final 12 months honing their video games as an alternative of determining how one can get from a hospital mattress to discovering pleasure within the easy pleasure of strolling.
Im, the 24-year-old South Korean recognized for not often lacking the middle of the membership face, ran off three straight birdies at first, recovered from a pair of bogeys with a 12-foot eagle putt on the thirteenth and added a late birdie for a 5-under 67.
He was one shot forward of Cameron Smith, taking part in for the primary time since profitable The Players Championship a month in the past. The Aussie with the mullet had essentially the most dynamic spherical of the day together with his eight birdies, all between a double bogey at first and the end.
“To be trustworthy, these couple of double bogeys actually did not have too unhealthy a shot in them. It’s not like I used to be scratching it out of the timber,” Smith said. “Just misjudged the wind on both wedges. Just left myself in a bit of a tough spot. Other than that, it was just really solid.”
Im’s 67 was the best rating to steer after 18 holes on the Masters since 2014, and that was to be anticipated. Even with 2 inches of rain that softened the course, the entrance that cleared out the clouds introduced sufficient wind to jangle the nerves at each flip.
Dustin Johnson, who held off Im and Smith when he received the Masters in November 2020, was 4 underneath by 10 holes and poised to current a frightening goal with the scoring holes forward of him. He needed to accept pars, dropped a shot late and was within the massive group at 69.
Also at 69 have been former Masters champion Danny Willett, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Joaquin Niemann, who holed out for eagle on No. 9 and nonetheless did not get the most important roar of the spherical. He was taking part in with Woods, who heard all of them day.
The crowd was so massive that Woods may barely be seen over so many heads as he walked from the clubhouse to the placing inexperienced after which to the primary tee, huge cheers at every station, all the way in which right down to Amen Corner till the top.
“Probably at the beginning I noticed that there was a lot of people, but then I was trying to talk to my caddie, and I couldn’t hear anything that he was saying,” Niemann stated.
Overlooked in Woods taking part in once more was the return of the spectators, and it was a phenomenal and roaring marriage. There have been pockets of cheers from round Augusta National, and limitless cheers for Woods.
He missed that. They missed him. And he did not waste time giving them cause for hope by making a 10-foot par putt on the primary gap.
“The place was electric,” Woods stated. “I hadn’t played like this since ’19 when I won because in ’20 we had COVID and we had no one here, and I didn’t play last year. So to have the patrons fully out and to have that type of energy out there was awesome to feel.”
He could not really feel the identical about his legs. He stated they have been sore, which he anticipated, however he may compete over 5 hours on smooth turf and so many undulations.
He got here inside a number of ft of an ace on the par-3 sixth. He made a 30-foot birdie on the par-3 sixteenth, and his different on an method that hugged the highest of the inexperienced on the par-5 thirteenth for a easy two-putt. His huge remorse was a pitch that got here up woefully brief on the par-5 eighth, adopted by a chip that was too robust and a poor putt.
He dropped one other shot from a 4-iron chip on the 14th that ran 8 ft by.
It wasn’t his greatest. But after going that lengthy with out severe competitors, he had few complaints.
“I’m going to be sore, yes. That’s just the way it is,” he said. “And this is only one round. We’ve got three more to go. There’s a long way to go and a lot of shots to be played.”
But it was a begin, and that felt like a win. And he was amongst 17 gamers from the 90-man subject who broke par, and that was huge.
“I was able to finish up in the red,” Woods stated. “I’m right where I need to be.”
The hundreds of spectators who stood a dozen deep in some spots, who stuffed each inch of grass round Amen Corner, could not have agreed extra.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
