AUGUSTA, Ga. – First rounds at the Masters have never been Tiger Woods' forte, so his opening 72 Thursday in his 18th Masters was — dare we say it? — par for the course for him. Woods is only five strokes off the lead held by Lee Westwood even though he was having such trouble with his relatively new and supposedly improved swing that he twice had to take penalty drops after wayward tee shots.
By Jack Gruber, USAT
Tiger Woods needed two penalty drops in his opening round 72, both for stray drives.
A decade ago, Woods would have been perturbed, to say the least, by such an uneven opening to a major tournament he desperately wants to win. Now, however, an almost eerie calmness has settled in.
"I hit some of the worst golf swings I've ever hit today, and that's all right," Woods said after the round. "I just hung in there and grinded my way around the golf course and stayed very patient, stayed in the moment. Unfortunately that was about as good as I got right there. I could have shot one, maybe two better … I got a lot out of that round."
The troubles began as he was practicing on the range before his round. "(I) warmed up bad, and it continued on the golf course," he said. "I just felt my way around today. I really grinded, stayed very present. And, you know, I know how to play this golf course. I think it's just understanding what I need to do."
Old, bad habits were troublesome for Woods on Thursday.
"Some of my old stuff from a few years ago (cropped up in his swing)," he said. "The Hank (Haney, his old coach) backswing was the new downswing."
That doesn't sound good.
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It didn't take long for Woods to drag his problems from the range to the course. His opening drive landed amid tall pines left of the fairway, but he scrambled from the pine straw to save par. He went left again on the second hole, one of the two in which he had to take a penalty drop, but again saved par. (The other drop occurred on 18.)
Woods made the turn at 1-under-par 35 and then made birdie on No. 10. With two par-5s coming up, it was reasonable to expect big things from him on the back nine. But that was not to be. He could only par both, flying his approach over the green on 13, then sending his drive into the trees on 15. To top things off, Woods bogeyed both 17 and 18.
"I've had to try and kind of work through it," he said, "and every now and again, it pops up, and today it popped up a little bit. … Now I'm struggling with it all the way around with all the clubs."
Woods, tied for 29th, said he was headed to the range right away to try to fix his problems. If he can get the swing back that won the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago, Woods certainly can work himself into the crowded pack on the leaderboard by the weekend.
He has been in this position at Augusta many times. In his 17 previous Masters, Woods has broken 70 in the first round just once — a 68 in 2010, which, ironically enough, was his first tournament back after his run-in with the fire hydrant in November 2009 that triggered his massive fall from grace.
Woods hasn't won the Masters since 2005, but he has finished in the top five in five of the past six years, including consecutive fourth-place finishes the last two years when he wasn't even playing particularly well.
The Masters always has felt like home for Woods, which is why it's his best chance to win a major each year. Because he won just two weeks ago, and because he hasn't won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, expectations are great for him this week. He not only wants to win, he actually needs to win. It's been a long time — too long — with far too much drama.
If his game is truly back, he can and should win this tournament. If it's not, then Woods will have squandered a great opportunity, and the wait for his 15th major will continue with a growing sense of urgency.
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