1/5
April 7 (UPI) — Large crowds followed Tiger Woods throughout the day as he carded three birdies and a first-round score of 1-under par at the 2022 Masters Tournament on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Woods carded a 71 in his first PGA Tour round in 17 months, a hiatus caused by the serious leg injuries he sustained in a 2021 single-car crash. He was tied for ninth, just three strokes behind co-leaders Cameron Smith and Scottie Scheffler when he went into the clubhouse.
Smith and Scheffler each carded 4-under par 68s.
Woods, 46, stepped up to the first tee box about 11 a.m. EDT. He smacked his tee shot 264 yards up the right flank near a fairway bunker on the 445-yard Par 4.
Woods made par on six of his first seven holes. He ripped an iron shot on No. 6 to within 2 feet of the pin on that 189-yard hole. He then drained his first birdie of the day.
Woods carded a bogey on No. 8 to go back to even. He made par on his next four holes. Woods used another beautiful approach shot to bag his second birdie on No. 13, a 510-yard Par 5. He two-putted on the green to move to 1-under and into a tie for 10th place.
That birdie moved Woods just two strokes back of then leader Danny Willett.
Woods went on to bogey again on No. 14 and made par on No. 15. He rebounded with a birdie on No. 16 to move into a tie for ninth. Woods carded another par on No. 17. He hit his final drive of the round into the Woods on No. 18, but recovered to save par on the Par 4.
Woods was 2-under par and four strokes off the lead after the first round during his 2019 Masters victory. He was seven strokes back of the lead after the first round of his 2005 Masters win.
The second round of the 2022 Masters tees off at 8 a.m. EDT Friday at Augusta. Woods, Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann tee off at 1:45 p.m. in Group 29.
The second round will stream from 8:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN+ and Masters.com. The TV broadcast will air from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
The Top 50 scores and ties through Friday’s second round will advance to Saturday’s third round, while the other half of the 91-player field is eliminated.
