Tiger Woods went 1 under through 13 holes before the first round of the Masters was suspended due to darkness Thursday in Augusta, Ga.
Woods will return to Augusta National early Friday morning to complete his first round before playing the second. The 15-time major winner is tied for 17th, six strokes off Bryson DeChambeau’s lead.
The 88th playing of the Masters began 2 1/2 hours later than scheduled Thursday morning due to weather. Woods’ tee time was pushed to 3:54 p.m. ET, and he wasted no time getting on the board with a birdie at the par-4 first hole.
But after a wayward tee shot at the par-5 second, Woods had to hit a left-handed shot from the base of a tree to get into the fairway. He went on to save par.
“I hit a nice 3-wood off of 1, hit a nice little 8-iron in there about 10, 12 feet and made the putt,” Woods said. “Then quickly hit the next one almost in a hazard, played lefty, got out there, and boy, I hit a nice pitch from over the green. That was nice.”
Woods bogeyed the par-3 fourth after sailing his tee shot over the green, but he got the stroke back at the par-5 eighth with a two-putt birdie.
Woods and playing partners Max Homa and Jason Day of Australia will resume their rounds at 7:50 a.m. Friday.
“It was nice to finish up 13,” Woods said. “We’re going to warm up and just kind of head down there and start our round, and I think the flow would be pretty much almost like between 20 and 30 minutes in between rounds, so it’ll be a natural flow from the finish of the first round and continuation of the second.”
It is Woods’ first appearance since withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational in February with flu-like symptoms, and his first major in a year. Woods made the cut at last year’s Masters but withdrew before the end of the rain-interrupted third round, citing plantar fasciitis.
He underwent left ankle surgery later that month and has played very little competitive golf since. While the ankle no longer gives him pain, he has said the rest of his body, including his knee and back, take the brunt of the weight now instead.
“The body is OK,” Woods said. “We’ve got some (recovery) work to do yet tonight.”
The five-time Masters champion would break a record held by Gary Player and Fred Couples if he makes his 24th straight cut at Augusta this week. The top 50 players and ties after 36 holes, plus anyone within 10 shots of the leader, will play the weekend.
–Field Level Media