Towards all odds, Tiger Woods teed off within the Masters on Thursday for his first actually aggressive event since a automobile wreck that broken his proper leg so badly he was confronted with the prospect of amputation.
After 5 straight pars — he simply missed a birdie on the robust No. 5 gap when a 15-foot putt lipped out — Woods delivered a classic tee shot on the par-3 sixth.
The ball climbed up a ridge on the inexperienced and stopped 2 toes in need of the flag, leaving Woods with nothing greater than a tap-in to push his rating to 1-under.
That was ok to place him on the leaderboard, proper behind co-leaders Harry Higgs and Talor Gooch.
Yep, there was an extended technique to go. Nonetheless, it felt as if Woods was already a winner.
Sporting a pink shirt and black pants, Woods was greeted by thunderous applause when his title was introduced to an enormous gallery surrounding the primary tee.
Woods didn’t make strong contact together with his first shot: a 264-yard drive that pale behind a bunker on the precise aspect of the green. His strategy rolled off the entrance of the inexperienced, however he sank a 10-foot putt to save lots of par, bringing one other big roar from the patrons.
Woods walked slowly and with the slight trace of a limp, realizing that he confronted 4 robust days on an especially hilly course if he manages to make the reduce.
Tiger Woods begins his twenty fourth Masters with a par on the primary. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/themasters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>#themasters</a> <a href=”https://t.co/gTva7ZznsP”>pic.twitter.com/gTva7ZznsP</a>
—@TheMasters
Merely taking part in was a victory for Woods.
His profession was in jeopardy after a devastating, single-car crash in Los Angeles in February 2021. He was confined to a hospital mattress for 3 months and out of the general public eye till final November, when he posted a video of him swinging a membership with a easy message, “Making progress.”
Regardless of the lengthy layoff and the plain bodily limitations with screws and rods nonetheless holding the bones in place in his proper leg, Woods stated he nonetheless thinks he can win his sixth inexperienced jacket.
At 46, he can be the oldest Masters champion by three weeks over Jack Nicklaus.
The most important query is how Woods holds up over 18 holes for 4 straight days. He walked 18 holes final week — his first large take a look at — throughout a scouting journey together with his son.
“The sheer will and perseverance, it’s unimaginable.”<br><br>A timeline of <a href=”https://twitter.com/TigerWoods?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@TigerWoods</a>’ outstanding return. <a href=”https://t.co/r6NnHdZdIg”>pic.twitter.com/r6NnHdZdIg</a>
—@PGATOUR
He teed off at 11:04 a.m. ET Thursday — half-hour not on time due to lingering showers — with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
“I can hit it simply high-quality. I haven’t got any qualms about what I can do bodily from a golf standpoint,” Woods stated Tuesday. “Strolling is the arduous half. That is usually not a straightforward stroll to start with. Now given the circumstances that my leg is in, it will get much more troublesome.
“Seventy-two holes is an extended highway and it’ll be a troublesome problem,” he added. “And a problem that I am up for.”