In search of his fifth green jacket, Tiger Woods shot an opening-round 2-under par 70 that was highlighted by a vintage birdie on the 14th hole that temporarily tied him for the lead on Thursday.
After a 1-under par front-nine 35 that featured a solid start followed by some missed short putts and culminated with a birdie on the 9th hole, Woods played Augusta National’s 10th hole as well as its famous Amen Corner — holes 11, 12 and 13 — in 1-under par to put him at 2-under par for the day with more scoring opportunities coming down the stretch.
However, a wayward drive at the par-4 14th hole seemed doomed to put a halt to that momentum. Left of the fairway and seemingly stymied by Georgia Pines, Woods pulled out a lofted club from 149 yards and went up and over the trees to find the surface 25 feet from the hole.
Tiger Woods goes OVER the trees and on to the green from the second cut at the 14th hole. https://t.co/rpU5KDKc6b pic.twitter.com/SuMkRqghi5
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 11, 2019
After getting a good read from playing partner Haotong Li, Woods curled in the delicate birdie putt to move to 3-under par, temporarily tying him for the lead.
.@TigerWoods escapes from the trees on No. 14 and converts his 25-foot birdie putt to claim a share of the lead. pic.twitter.com/ub6VGCYxNI
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 11, 2019
Tiger would give one shot back coming in by making bogey on the par-4 17th hole, but his 2-under par 70 had him in good spirits after the round, likely because of what 2-under par 70s have done for him in the past.
“I’ve shot this number and won (three) coats, so hopefully I can do it again,” Woods said, referencing three of his four Masters titles came after shooting 2-under par in the first round.
This time, Woods enters Friday four shots back of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. Tiger tees off in the second round at 1:49 p.m.
