Tiger Woods break up the golf green along with his opening shot Thursday, confidently plucking his tee from the bottom earlier than his ball had even landed, and set off with grim-faced dedication for a steamy trek round Augusta National.

The remainder of his day on the Masters was principally simply grim.

There had been two depraved lip-outs on the entrance facet. A pitch shot dumped in a greenside bunker on the again. Some dangerous luck off the tee at 18, which left him with a painfully awkward stance. And on nearly each gap, a pronounced limp — the proof of the crash on a suburban Los Angeles highway simply over two years in the past that crushed bones in his proper leg and ankle.

By the time Woods struggled by way of the ending gap, failing to stand up and down from one other bunker, he had shot 74 — adequate to remain in competition to play the weekend however hardly adequate to really contend. He has by no means missed the minimize on the Masters as knowledgeable.

“Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it,” Woods stated. “Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper, and kind of inch my way through it.”

Or not less than hobble by way of it.

It was the worst opening spherical for Woods on the Masters since 2005, when he adopted a 74 with 65-66-71 to seize the fourth of his 5 inexperienced jackets. Recent historical past means that duplicating that comeback shall be powerful, although: He shot 78-78 on the weekend final 12 months, and is now a mixed 16 over for his final 4 rounds at Augusta National.

The 4 consecutive rounds over par is Woods’ longest such streak since first driving down Magnolia Lane in 1995.

“Today was the opportune time to get the round under par,” he stated, “and I didn’t do that.”

The five-time champion had the perfect view for a few golfers who did.

Viktor Hovland used an eagle on the second to propel him to a gap 65, and Xander Schauffele shot 68, on a day that purple numbers dominated the scoreboards.

“It’s really cool just to be around him,” stated Hovland, who was low newbie on the Masters in 2019, when Woods gained his most up-to-date inexperienced jacket. “He’s been such a huge influence to the game of golf, and obviously watched him hours growing up. And to get to play with him for the first time today was very special, and especially to play this round so well.”

Woods truly outdrove each Hovland and Schauffele on the first, and was cruising alongside till the third, when he caught a pitch shot excessive on his membership face and left it wanting the inexperienced. Woods ran his subsequent chip previous the opening, missed a slippery downhill putt and walked off along with his first bogey of the day.

Then got here the lip-outs: a vicious one on the fifth, the identical gap on which Woods started utilizing his driver as a strolling stick, and one other on the seventh, which left him 3 over and looking for some optimistic vibes.

They got here briefly with a birdie on the eighth, solely to dissipate when Woods dumped his pitch into the bunker at No. 11 and made bogey. He regarded like he may catch momentum once more with an extended birdie putt on the fifteenth and an method caught shut for birdie on the sixteenth, solely to look at a near-perfect drive on the 18th come to relaxation too near a fairway bunker.

Woods tried a number of stances earlier than planting his left foot within the grass, excessive above him, and digging his proper within the sand. He proceeded to ship a line drive from there into the greenside bunker, dropping his stability and hopping away on his left leg.

“Hop on the left leg is fine,” he stated. “If I did it on the other one, not so fine.”

Woods splashed out of that bunker, missed the par putt and started his halting stroll to the clubhouse to signal his card.

“I didn’t give myself very good looks,” he stated. “Need to do a better job of that going forward.”

Indeed, the spherical was hardly classic Woods, but the texture round Augusta National was unmistakably traditional.

Patrons stacked four-, five- and generally six-deep for an opportunity to see him, then walked shortly forward — working being strictly forbidden — to discover a prime spot to see him once more. They clapped politely when he’d faucet in for par, roared just like the outdated days for his three birdies, and showered him with adulation when his spherical was over.

At one level, after ready an hour for Woods to return by way of after which watching him play an method shot from the golf green proper in entrance of them, one gentleman turned to his buddy and stated: “Well, we can go home now.”

Without a number of extra birdies, and some much less errors, that’s the place Woods shall be headed quickly, too.