Tiger Woods is 1-over as he plays the second round at the Masters on Friday with a chance to set the record with a 24th consecutive cut made at the event.
Woods wrapped the first round early Friday morning by bogeying the par-4 18th, where he pushed his second shot right into the greenside bunker as the clock ticked under 50 minutes until he was scheduled to tee off Round Two.
When the first round wrapped for Woods, he was tied for 35th and clear of the projected cut line despite going 2-over on the final five holes.
Woods finished his opening 18 on Friday due to a 2 1/2-hour weather delay Thursday morning. He went 1 under through 13 holes before the first round of the Masters was suspended due to darkness Thursday in Augusta, Ga.
The 15-time major winner went at the flag from the sand on his third shot at 18 but it scooted 10 feet past the cup to leave a par putt from the fringe that settled high for a tap-in bogey.
He hit 9 of 18 greens in regulation in the first round.
Woods’ tee time was pushed to 3:54 p.m. ET on Thursday, 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 were scheduled to resume their rounds at 7:50 a.m. Friday. Homa bogeyed 18 but carded a 67 in his best ever round at Augusta National, while Day is 3-over and in danger of missing the weekend.
Keeping his back loose was a focus for Woods in the brief break between rounds Friday.
“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,” he said.
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
