AUGUSTA, Georgia — After 18 holes of golf and about as many hours of recovery, Tiger Woods is playing the Masters Tournament again. It’...
AUGUSTA, Georgia — After 18 holes of golf and about as many hours of recovery, Tiger Woods is playing the Masters Tournament again.
It’s not going as well as Thursday.
Woods bugged four of the first seven holes on Friday, a day after shooting a 71 to hold at one under par, and dropped sharply in the standings.
Woods, playing less than 14 months after a car accident that left his leg on the verge of amputation, had anticipated increased difficulty as the week progressed and his body withstood the hilly stresses of Augusta National Golf. Club.
And while most of Woods’ three birdies on Thursday have come on the back nine, he’s already at least doubled his daily bogey count.
He plays alongside Joaquín Niemann, who joined him for Thursday’s round. (Shortly before Friday’s competition, Louis Oosthuizen, who played for the men on Thursday, withdrew due to injury.)
At least two players – Charl Schwartzel, who won the Masters 11 years ago, and Sungjae Im – will come into play on the weekend at three under par.
Schwartzel put together a 69 on Friday after shooting even Thursday, his scorecard helped by five birdies. His most radical swing came on the 240-yard fourth hole, where he birdied Thursday and bogeyed Friday.
Despite improving from Thursday, Schwartzel called Friday’s round “difficult,” in part because of the winds that battered the field, particularly around Amen Corner.
“I think anyone would be happy to shoot at the normal level,” he said. “If you shoot three under, that’s a bonus, and you’ve landed a few good shots and made a few extra putts.”
Im, playing in his third Masters and tied for second in his Augusta National debut, led the field Thursday at five under par but opened his Friday with a bogey on the No. stabilized until the back nine, where he stumbled badly on numbers 10, 12, 15 and 18.
Dustin Johnson, who won in 2020 when Im was the runner-up, slipped on Friday, scoring a 73 after a 69 in the first round. But at two under par, he too will enter the weekend as a contender.
COMMENTS