Recapping Tiger Woods' Round 1 at Masters Tournament

Zac Al-Khateeb

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Recapping Tiger Woods' Round 1 at Masters Tournament image

Not the best start for Tiger Woods, but he'll take it.

Tiger, returning to Augusta National to compete at the Masters for the first time in three years, managed a 1-over 73 after one round after falling behind to 3-over-par after 13 holes.

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Tiger suffered a little inconsistency off the tee and some achingly close misses for birdie to arrive at his score through one day.

Here's how he got there:

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Tiger Woods highlights from Round 1 at Augusta

(All times Eastern)

Hole 18: Par 4, 465 yards
Final Round 1 score: (1-over 73)

3:44 p.m.: Tiger's cautious on his first putt and ends up walking it in for par. That leaves him at 1-over 73 through one round at the Masters — not bad, all things considered. 

3:39 p.m.: Tiger's approach shot goes deeper than he wants — he's 30 feet from pay dirt, on the edge of the fringe. 

3:32 p.m.: Another excellent tee shot has Tiger on track for birdie. 

Hole 17: Par 4, 440 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

3:28 p.m.: Tiger doesn't get the ball to break, missing just right. He walks it in for par with one hole remaining. If he could get to even for the day it would be a victory.

3:23 p.m.: Tiger has a chance at back-to-back birdies after his approach shot leaves him 15 feet from the hole right on the edge of the fringe. What a turnaround this would be after his struggles earlier in the day.

3:16 p.m.: Tiger strikes true off the tee, booming a stinger down the middle of the fairway. Great start for a birdie attempt.

Hole 16: Par 3, 170 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

3:12 p.m.: That's Tiger's third birdie of the day, and that brings him to 1-over and puts him only four shots behind leaders Marc Leishman, Henrik Stenson and Adam Hadwin.

3:07 p.m.: Tiger's approach shot lands about 30 feet from the hole, but his placement allows it to roll downhill roughly 15 feet from the ultimate mark.

Hole 15: Par 5, 530 yards
Score: (2-over-par)

3:02 p.m.: Tiger didn't put enough on it and falls short about a foot of the hole. He walks it in for par — making him even through all four par-5 holes of the day. He'll need to capitalize on those in the next round if he wants to make the cut.

2:56 pm.: Tiger's approach shot lands center of the green roughly 18 feet from the hole. He's got a shot at birdie here.

2:55 p.m.: Not sure exactly where, but Tiger's second shot lands him in the gallery again.

2:46 p.m.: Aaaaand Tiger's tee is right. Way right. He'll have to maneuver around some trees if he wants to save birdie. Incredible how much he has struggled on the par-5s today.

Hole 14: Par 4, 440 yards
Score: (2-over-par)

2:43 p.m.: There's the birdie Tiger's been looking for. That puts him back to 2-over and he's got a par-5 hole upcoming to get him back to 1-over or better. 

2:35 p.m.: Tiger lands himself about 6 feet from the hole with his second shot of the hole. He's got a chance to get back to 2-over but he's missed on birdie putts all day. This would be huge with another par-5 hole coming up.

2:30 p.m.: Good tee from Tiger lands on the fairway.

Hole 13: Par 5, 510 yards
Score: (3-over-par)

2:25 p.m.: Another putt pulls left. He has been miserably close to the hole, but no luck today. He taps it in for par .

2:20 p.m.: Tiger's approach shot bounces on the green and rolls 7 feet away from the hole. Another great look at a birdie here. 

2:12 p.m.: Tiger's tee floats right. His next shot stays right and bounces into the crowd. He's having a rough go of it.

2:09 p.m.: Big hole here for Tiger, who's 3-over for the day so far.

Hole 12: Par 3, 155 yards
Score: (3-over-par)

2:08 p.m.: Tiger may have just got the biggest putt of the day, and it was a bogey from 12 feet out. That mitigates the damage from his tee shot but he can't let this get away from him. He still has two par-5 holes to play through.

2:05 p.m.: After taking the one-stroke penalty, Tiger takes his third shot on the par-3 hole. It's still on the fringe and there's a decent chance he double-bogeys here.

1:59 p.m.: More bad news for Tiger. His tee shot on 12 is short of the green and it appears to have fallen in the water.

Hole 11: Par 4, 505 yards
Score: (2-over-par)

1:55 p.m.: Tiger pulls it again and has to settle for bogey . He's 2-over now and five shots behind leader Marc Leishman.

1:51 p.m.: He's 7 feet from the hole, on the green. Could very well save par here but he has pulled a lot of his putts today.

1:49 p.m.: Tiger hits a stinger but the ball stays right and sends audience members scrambling to avoid it. He said it best: "God dang it!"

1:46 p.m.: Tiger has a shot at the green from where the ball is, depending on the line he has, but it looks like he's going to have to clear some trees to do it.

1:40 p.m.: Tiger misses well right off the tee on Hole 11 — so badly in fact, he wanted it to go even further so he'd clear the trees. We'll have to see where the ball landed.

Hole 10: Par 4, 495 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

1:37 p.m.: Tiger hits par and is 1-over through 10. He's visibly relieved to have that after just barely missing the bunker — he'll take that one.

1:34 p.m.: Tiger chips the ball off the fringe but didn't get enough of it. It's a foot from the hole and he should tap it in for par.

1:30 p.m.: Tiger was groaning after that approach shot, but he narrowly avoids the bunker to the right of the green — he's on the fringe from roughly 15 feet out.

1:22 p.m.: Another fantastic drive for Tiger as he booms it with the curvature of the fairway. He's on the left side of the fairway and he'll have a great look at the green from here.

1:20 p.m.: Tiger's stats through the front nine:

Hole 9: Par 4, 460 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

1:19 p.m.: Tiger two-putts for par and is 1-over through the front nine. He's tied for 23rd but is four shots off the lead of Marc Leishman, who is 3-under for the day.

1:17 p.m.: Tiger tries to get the curve on it, but it's too wide and doesn't have enough curve on it. It lands a foot from the hole.

1:13 p.m.: Tiger's approach shot lands on the pin-high green, roughly 21 feet from the hole. Rolls a little after, but negligible. Considering his short-game woes today it'd be a huge win here if he can somehow sneak birdie.

1:06 p.m.: Tiger yells "Get lucky!" as his tee veers a little to the left. It is lucky — it's just left of the fairway and he has a decent shot at the green..

1:04 p.m.: Tiger has some ground to make up, eight holes through Round 1:

Hole 8: Par 5, 570 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

1:01 p.m.: Par it is. That was a lot of work for Tiger to make five. He's still 1-over through eight holes.

1 p.m.: Tiger misses the birdie attempt and has about 3 feet to make for par. He hasn't been able to capitalize on par-5s today. 

12:59 p.m.: Tiger gets a chip shot but it skids across the green roughly 15 feet.

12:55 p.m.: Seems the ball got lost ... somewhere.

12:45 p.m.: Tiger booms a drive down the middle of the fairway. He needs to get a birdie here and that's a good start.

Hole 7: Par 4, 450 yards
Score: (1-over-par)

12:40 p.m.: Tiger two-putts for par . He's been making some great shots, just barely missing though. Still 1-over for the day.

12:36 p.m.: Yet another birdie attempt goes left, this time by an inch. Ball trickles a foot past the hole. He'll have to make that for par.

12:31 p.m.: Tiger's approach shot looks like it went a little longer than he wanted but he's on the green, roughly 20 feet from birdie.

12:25 p.m.: Tiger gets a nice tee on the seventh with a 3-wood; the ball rolls down the left side of the fairway.

Hole 6: Par 3, 180 yards (1-over-par)

12:22 p.m.: Another achingly close miss for Tiger. His birdie attempt slips left of the mark. He two-putts for par and is still at 1-over through six holes.

12:15 p.m.: Tiger irons off the tee and gets 6 feet away from a birdie putt on Hole 6. Excellent opportunity to get back to even.

Hole 5: Par 4, 455 yards (1-over-par)

12:07 p.m.: Bad luck there. Tiger's par attempt hits the left lip of the hole. He bogeys for the second straight hole and is now 1-over through five holes on the day. He's three shots behind leader Marc Leishman, at 2-under.

12:04 p.m.: Good putt from Tiger (from 66 feet out) puts him about 7 feet from the hole after the ball just barely missed left. Good short game from him today, especially considering he's been playing flat greens prior to the Masters.

11:59 a.m.: Tiger gets himself out of the bunker and manages to land the ball on the green on the opposite of the hole. Birdie unlikely here, but he's in good position for par.

11:53 a.m.: Tiger yelling at the ball to "get down" right after he hit it with the 3-wood. Looks to have hit the bunker just to the left of the fairway.

Hole 4: Par 3, 240 yards
Score: (even)

11:48 a.m.: Tiger bogeys on Hole 4 after his potential par-saving putt veers about a half a foot left of the target. He's now even for the day.

11:45 a.m.: Tiger's out of the bunker but his ball goes about 15 feet past the hole. It's going to be tricky to save par here.

11:41 a.m.: Tiger's drive off the tee is straight as an arrow but lands in the bunker just short of the green. Par still very much in play.

11:36 a.m.: Tiger's now just one shot off the lead of Vijay Singh, shooting a 1-under for the day. To recap, he started the day with two pars and a birdie.

Hole 3: Par 4, 350 yards
Score: (1-under-par)

11:33 a.m.: And Tiger gets his first birdie of the day from about 10 feet out. That drew a nice little reaction from the crowd at the Hole 3 green. 

11:28 a.m.: Tiger has another shot at birdie here after chipping the ball onto the green, roughly 10 feet from the hole. Excellent short game display from Tiger thus far today.

11:19 a.m.: More good news — Tiger rips his tee with the driver and is in great position for birdie.

11:16 a.m.: Good news for Tiger — only three players under par here at the Masters. Plenty of time to get going.

Hole 2: Par 5, 575 yards
Score: (even)

11:15 a.m.: Tiger's birdie attempt just hits the lip of the hole. He'll have to settle for two-putt par . 

11:12 a.m.: Tiger gets out of the sand trap and puts enough backward spin on the ball to minimize distance from the hole. It stops roughly 12 feet from the hole.

11:09 a.m.: Tiger literally stomped his foot in frustration on that shot.

11:07 a.m.: Tiger not happy with his approach shot, 219 yards from the hole. It falls in the bunker short and right of the green. He's got some work to do but is still in contention for a birdie.

10:59 a.m.: Tiger uses the driver and gets under the ball pretty well, blasting it and getting it to roll a pretty good distance.

Hole 1: Par 4, 445 yards
Score: (even)

10:54 a.m.: A beautiful putt puts Tiger just a foot away from the hole. He two-putts for par on Hole 1.

10:49 a.m.: Tiger gets out of trouble, hitting a bump and run shot that rolls along the fairway just to the fringe. He's got a shot for par here, approaching the hole from the right.

10:42 a.m.: Tiger's tee sails left (a recurring problem at the Arnold Palmer Invitational). We're off.

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Zac Al-Khateeb

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Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.