Tom Watson shoots his best round since 2010

Tom Watson is fully aware his Masters clock is ticking down.

While that may be the case, the 65-year-old former champion dipped into his past Thursday and put together his best round at Augusta National Golf Club since 2010 with a 1-under 71.

“It’s fun to be in the red figures at Augusta National,” Watson said. “At my age, it’s a minor miracle.”

Watson’s round was his best since a first-round 67 at the 2010 Masters. Since, he hadn’t posted a score better than an even-par 72 in 2011, and in missing the cut the past four years, he had six rounds of 77 or worse, including last year’s 78-81 showing.

On Thursday, however, he turned back the clock and spent the bulk of his day in the red.

“It was a good round,” Watson said. “I can play better, but I made some good swings. I’m not hitting the ball as well as I was last year, but I shot 81 last year. Today I hit a few good shots and didn’t lay the turf over today like I do every now and then.”

Watson opened and closed his front nine with bogeys, but in between made birdies on the par-5s.

He jump-started his second nine when he one-hopped a shot from the right bunker into the cup for an electrifying birdie.

“The bunker shot was lucky,” Watson said. “It landed about six feet short and then it was a slam dunk into it for a birdie rather than rolling by about 10 or eight feet. So, just a normal birdie.”

Watson pushed it to 2-under with a birdie on No. 16, sticking his approach on the par-3 to three feet. But he gave the shot back with a bogey on 17, unable to hold the green with a 4-iron.

A two-time champion (1977 and 1981), Watson admitted he’d spent the past few years still trying to attack Augusta National the way he did in his youth when he made 21 consecutive cuts from 1975-1995. But he took a different approach this year and it paid off Thursday.

“I’ve played the golf course enough times to know where I’m supposed to hit it and where I’m not supposed to hit it,” Watson said. “I struggled the last few years hitting it, trying to hit shots like I used to, when I know that I had to hit my best shot. The ego gets involved and my ego got involved too much the last few years. Today, I just kind of played within myself.”