AUGUSTA, Ga. — Something was in the air, a murmur at first, a rush of sound far away from the first tee, growing louder by the second. Hundreds of heads turned. The galleries were as large as they could ever be at Augusta National, packed 20-25 people deep, waiting for one person, and that person, Tiger Woods, was on his way, magically enough, from the practice green to the tee box of the 2022 Masters.
Less than 14 months earlier, he crashed his SUV and thought he might lose his right leg or never walk again. Now, here he was, striding confidently, albeit with a persistent limp, in front of a massive Thursday morning audience to begin his first official round of golf since he last teed off at Augusta National Golf Club in the November 2020 Masters.
One of the most stunning sports stories ever told was unfolding before the hundreds gathered by the first tee. The 46-year-old Woods, who a year ago was in the midst of spending three consecutive months in a hospital bed, was on his way to a magnificent opening round, breaking par, finishing at one-under 71, tied for ninth when he ended.
There was only one conclusion to draw from this remarkable sports moment: Tiger is just so good at this and cares so much about it that he can do it, and do it very well, on a rebuilt right leg.
“I felt good,” Woods said on ESPN after he finished. “The whole idea was to keep pushing but keep recovering, that’s the hard part, every night to recover. I figured once the adrenaline kicks in, I get fired up and I get into my little world, I should be able to handle business.”
And so it was. “I fought back (from several mistakes),” he said, “and for the day to end in the red (under par), I’m where I need to be.”
Dozens of other golfers were on the course as Tiger was, but in some ways, they barely existed.
“You can’t help but watch him, he’s an inspiration to us all,” said Cameron Smith, a co-leader at 4-under-par, playing right in front of Woods.
As the clouds that brought fierce thunderstorms and two inches of rain to town cleared, Woods teed off to thunderous applause. His first drive was not a prize winner. The sound was not pure but thin, and the result was mediocre, short and right of the bunker on the right side of the fairway. But just as he was going to do all day, Woods persevered. He hit his approach just short of the green and made a 10-foot putt to save par.
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He was on his way. He parred the first five holes before a scintillating shot into the par-three sixth hole, leaving him just two feet for birdie. He was 1 under, and on the leaderboard. How much greater could this story get?
But golf giveth and golf taketh away. On the par-5 eighth hole, Woods made an ugly bogey, needing four shots from 50 yards away from the hole to go back to even-par. “A loss of concentration a little bit there,” Tiger said.
He came back on the par-5 13th, when he reached the green in two, was putting for eagle and settled for an easy birdie. His good fortune didn’t last as a drive into the trees led to a missed green and a two-putt bogey on 14.
But then, pure Tiger magic occurred on No. 16, the iconic par-3 that has seen its share of Tiger heroics over the years. Woods’ tee shot dropped beautifully onto the green, 29 feet from the hole. Of course, Tiger made the putt to go back to one-under par, and that’s where he stayed.
For much of the late morning and early afternoon Thursday, Woods was even-par. He had his moments, but most of all, while he wasn’t in the lead, he was on the leaderboard. He offered few smiles; this clearly was a grind. His tee shots were not as long as those of his playing partners. He missed some fairways and greens. But he fought. Did he ever fight, and when his 10-foot par putt fell into the cup for a closing par save on No. 18, he sighed deeply. He had done it, and he was done for the day.
He was asked what was next for him. He answered like a middle-aged man who had just walked 18 holes up and down hills on a leg full of pins and screws and plates.
Said Tiger, “Lots of ice.”
