Defending champion Tiger Woods likes his chances of winning a fifth Masters title after an opening-round par 72 in Augusta on Thursday, his top first-round showing at Augusta National Golf Club since 2002.
World number one Woods, who stood five strokes behind leader Vijay Singh of Fiji, opened with a 74 in 2005 but went on to win a playoff over Chris DiMarco, who led Woods by seven strokes after the first round last year.
”Better than I was last year, so I’m in good shape,” Woods said.
Woods sank a 35-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to end a difficult day that included an eagle, two birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-5 15th when a lay-up shot found a divot.
”I thought I could have gotten under par but it just didn’t happen,” Woods said. ”I hit the ball well all day. I controlled my shots well. I just didn’t get a whole lot out of it. I had two three-putts. I threw away those two shots.
”Other than that, probably the way I played I should have been under par.”
Woods felt he left a stroke on the course by missing a 10-foot birdie putt at the 17th.
”I should have made that putt,” he said. ”Actually to make one on 18 was kind of a gift.”
Putting has always been a major factor on Augusta’s undulating greens, but their firmness this year is at extreme levels.
”It has just picked up enough speed where it feels like the ball is being repelled instead of being accepted,” Woods said.
”Experience helps a lot on this golf course — where to miss it, how to play the angles. Have a good putting day and you can shoot good numbers.
”The greens being as undulating as they are, that might separate the guys a little bit.”
Dry conditions led to fast greens on a lengthened course and the combination made scoring seem more like the US Open, where scoring is at a premium.
”I thought at the beginning of the day there might be two scores in the 60s? There’s what? Three. That’s about right. The course is playing difficult. You don’t figure there are going to be a bunch of guys shooting low numbers.
”If you hit just marginal shots — just one foot, one yard here or there — you are looking at potential for making birdie to probably making bogey.
”Enough of those throughout the day in the course of a tournament, you can put yourself right out of it.” – Sapa-AFP