By Rahul Banerji
Tiger Woods got his Masters title defence off to a solid start at Augusta National on Thursday, bringing in a bogey-free 4-under 68 that put him three shots behind leader Paul Casey.
Tiger was one of only three golfers to bring in a clean card on the day besides Casey (65) and Webb Simpson (67), who is tied second alongside Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele.
The 44-year-old defending champion, who has been playing a restricted schedule to protect his back, matched his best opening round at Augusta on the day on only his seventh start of the season.
“I did everything well,” he said on tigerwoods.com later. “I drove it well, hit my irons well, putted well.
“The only real bad shot I hit today was I think 8. I had a perfect number with a 60-degree sand wedge and I hit it on the wrong shelf.
“Other than that, I just did everything well. The only thing I could say is that I wish I could have made a couple more putts.
Reading the course
“Understanding how to play this golf course is so important,” said Tiger who is tied fifth.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have so many practice rounds throughout my career with so many past champions, and I was able to win this event early in my career and build myself up for the understanding that I’m going to come here each and every year.
“And the fact that this tournament is played on the same venue each and every year—understanding how to play it is a big factor.”
Had it not been for a couple of missed putts, it would have been an even better round, especially on the final hole of the day where he missed a nine-footer for birdie.
“I missed everything on the high side. Putts just aren’t moving, so it’s just different with as slow as they are and then with the weather delay, the amount of rain they’ve had. The golf course is going to change a lot.”
Asia update
Meanwhile, Asia’s stars produces solid starts on a weather-hit Thursday, with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and debutant Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand leading the charge, pgatour.com said.
Matsuyama had his best opening round at Augusta National with a 4-under 68 in his ninth appearance at the fable tournament to share fifth place with Tiger in a group of eight.
The 28-year-old took advantage of ideal scoring conditions and made five birdies against a lone bogey to put himself in position to challenge for a maiden major title and a sixth PGA Tour victory.
Jazz, the 2019 Asian Tour no. 1, was delighted with a solid debut at Augusta National following a 3-under 69 highlighted by six birdies including four over his closing six holes.
It was also his best first round score in his sixth major appearance. His tied 14th result at the 2019 PGA Championship remains as his career best major finish to date.
Forty-four players will return on Friday morning to complete their first rounds thanks to threatening thunderstorms.
Also read: Tiger Woods bounces back from horror start at Sherwood
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