Defending champion Tiger Woods looked his old self on Thursday and made an exciting start to his defence of the famous green jacket.
The five-time Masters winner’s struggles for form in 2020 appeared to be a thing of the past as he worked his way through the iconic Augusta National Golf Course with a solid opening-round 68 – a career-best for him on the first day at the event.
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Woods, who probably knows the Georgia layout better and more intimate than any other player in the field, was one of the early players out after a lengthy rain delay as the event began.
Four birdies throughout his 18 holes saw Woods also sign off for his maiden bogey-free opening round at the Masters and he admitted afterwards that he was in the mood on Thursday.
Fist pump from Tiger following a birdie on No. 1. #themasters pic.twitter.com/W8VpXee3HP
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 12, 2020
‘I did everything well, I drove it well, I hit my irons well and I putted well. The only bad shot I hit today was on 8. I had a perfect number with a 60-degree sand wedge and hit it on the wrong shelf. Other than that, I did everything well,’ he said.
Woods, iconically, stunned the golfing world last year when he defied the odds by winning the Masters in what has been described as one of the greatest sporting comebacks of the modern era.
This year, though, is a far cry from the rapturous roar he received when he sank that putt on the 18th hole to clinch his 15th Major crown.
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‘No patrons. No roars. A few times, we had to ask the cameramen who were out on the course with us where our shots ended up, because we didn’t know,’ Woods jokingly said.
Using the slopes. Tiger Woods birdies No. 16 to reach -3 at #themasters pic.twitter.com/TZlWyHTWg8
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 12, 2020
The 44-year-old, who won his first title at Augusta back in 1997, expected the low scores that came from Thursday’s opening round but admitted that he could’ve done better in certain scenarios to be more effective after the rain bucketed down.
‘I missed on the high side a few times. Putts are not moving, so it is different as slow as they are and with the weather delay and the amount of rain they have had. But that will change over the next few days. With these conditions, you have to. You have to be aggressive.’
