Tiger Woods starts strong at Masters as Paul Casey leads incomplete round

AUGUSTA, Georgia. – Comfortable playing his 87th round at the Masters, Tiger Woods stalked the Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday with the self-confidence of someone strolling through their living room in search of their recliner, footrest and of his favorite roller coaster, for a cool drink in hand. Blow after blow, the trail was so familiar it could have been tackled in the dark.

Given that Woods has won the tournament five times and has been a masters game for the past 25 years, it is possible that he played on the golf course under these conditions. And probably still broken tied.

Woods, the defending champion, was not the leader after Thursday’s first round of play, which was delayed by a nearly three-hour storm that prevented dozens of players from completing their sessions. With a four under par 68, Woods was tied for fourth and quietly three shots behind leader Paul Casey.

But Woods’ knees were the strongest statement of the day. It was a mixed year for Woods, but on this day he was made up and rarely out of position on the evil Augusta National track. It almost felt like we had cruise control, like it could hit a 68.

I did everything right today, ”said Woods, who is not inclined to congratulate himself after his turn.

Every other seasoned contender on the pitch knows Masters history when Woods has a good first round. It’s not true that he won every time he turned 70 or older in the first round. However, this has happened four times. He struggled seriously on the other three occasions where he was two or more strokes below par after matchday one, finishing fourth twice and sixth once.

When asked if Woods was surprised at the quality of his game given his erratic performances for most of this season, he shrugged.

“Understanding how to play on this golf course is just an important part of playing well here,” he said. “It’s so familiar.”

Knows the territory; he could even find the TV remote in the dark of his living room.

Woods’ regular game was in stark contrast to most of what had happened in the Masters first round ever played in November. Nothing else looked usual, with typically treacherous wet and slow greens, missing spring floral colors, and missing galleries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“There were a lot of differences today,” said Woods. “There was a drone flying over the green. You don’t hear the drones here. There were no customers, no roars. Lots of news today. This is how it has been all year round. ” Russia is making it easier to punish activists

Many players had the same feeling of being in a recognizable but altered place. Xander ScHotele shot a brilliant 67 to end the day tied for second with Webb Simpson, but didn’t seem sure what to do next.

“A lot of people felt bad, in all honesty,” ScHotele said. “The greens are really soft so there’s not much to worry about. It was really weird. You were playing fewer breaks on the putts and hitting harder, which you never do here.”

Casey, who has had five top-10 standings in 13 previous Masters appearances, scored an eagle on the second hole with an approach shot he expected to land on the green.

“I hit a 6 iron against a left pin on the No 2, and you can’t hit that shot in April,” Casey said. “Today it was started and stopped instantly. In April, he would be one of the clients. I’m probably doing five, not three. ”

But when it comes to the funny and unexpected moments of this first round of the Masters, it would be hard to beat the sight of seven chest-high golfers, caddies and officials among the azaleas in search of Bryson DeChambeau’s wayward ball.

After starting his round on the tenth hole, DeChambeau slammed his tee shot on the number 13 in the trees and tried to catch up. Instead, she caught her ball incorrectly and ended up buried in the bushes behind the green. So just in case he couldn’t find that ball, DeChambeau hit a provisional shot that landed at Rae’s Creek, short of the green. Here the election results for Georgia 2020

I was really scared to find that ball, “said DeChambeau, who entered the round as the tournament favorite.” I would have made the wrong number if I hadn’t found it. ”

After finding the ball, he declared it unplayable and had to fall down a steep slope. He then missed a risky chip and ended up doing a double bugbear. DeChambeau organized a rally impr

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