Tiger Woods at The Masters: Live updates from Thursday’s opening round at Augusta National
Less than 14 months after a near-fatal car crash, Tiger Woods makes his return to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National for the 86th Masters tournament.
With spring in the air and the azaleas in full bloom, play begins Thursday morning in the first of golf’s four major championships with one dominant story line. Can Woods make it up and down Augusta’s famed hills on an injured leg he wasn’t sure he’d be ever be able to walk on not long ago?
If he is able to make it through 18 holes on Day 1, will he be able to do it again on Day 2? Even if he does all that, will he be able to play at the elite level needed to make the cut and continue to the weekend?
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And even then, is there the slightest chance he might contend? Or possibly … win a sixth green jacket? The world awaits the answers. Woods will tee off alongside Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann at 11:04 a.m. ET.
one of the most improbable quests in sports history.
Ranked 973rd in the world, Tiger Woods, 46, is playing in the Masters, barring an overnight setback of some sort. It will have been 408 days since he wrecked his SUV and shattered his right leg on Feb. 23, 2021. A year ago right now, he was in the midst of three consecutive months of lying in a hospital bed.
What an incredible story this is, one for the ages, no matter how it plays out.
“It’s just truly amazing,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday. “He is one of the most determined, dedicated athletes that I have ever seen in my life.”
— Christine Brennan
Hole locations for the first round
Today’s pin placements for each hole.
Weather delay at The Masters
The 2022 Masters won’t begin on time because of thunderstorms in the area, Augusta National Golf Club said in a news release. Gate openings and tee times will be delayed by 30 minutes. That means the first tee time will be at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the Honorary Starters Ceremony will be at 8:15 a.m.
was not disinvited from the Masters, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley told the media Wednesday in his annual pre-tournament press conference. Ridley said the three-time Masters champion informed him via text message that he would not be competing in this year’s tournament.
Mickelson announced in February that he was taking a leave of absence from golf. He last competed in January at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Mickelson finds himself in the midst of a heated controversy for derogatory comments he made about the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan, as well as the Saudi Arabian regime that’s backing a breakaway league led by Greg Norman.
“I know I have not been my best,” Mickelson wrote in February, “and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.”
— Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek
There haven’t been any missteps or mishaps since he arrived at Augusta National on Sunday and played the back nine by himself.
Counting last Tuesday’s 27 holes, he’s put in 54 holes at Augusta National. And this comes on the heels of simulating a 72-hole tournament by walking and playing 18 holes four consecutive days at The Medalist near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida.
return to competitive golf — a Masters appearance 14 months after his harrowing car crash — stirred bettors to support a longshot sixth title for the golfing great.
Tipico Sportsbook established Woods, 46, as a 50/1 selection to win the tournament — a position behind more than 20 others.
Other shops posted far less hopeful figures.
While FanDuel Sportsbook also set Woods’ odds of winning the Masters at 50/1, the Las Vegas SuperBook listed him at 60/1.
The Masters favorite at Tipico is Jon Rahm (+1000), followed by the formidable field of Justin Thomas (+1300), Cameron Smith and Scottie Scheffler (+1500).
The group gets crowded with Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy all listed at 20/1.
— Lance Pugmire