Round is 1 that got away
Two bogeys end Woods' quest for par
OK, Tiger Woods rooters. Take a chill pill.
Sure, he shot 1-over-par 73 in Thursday's first round of the Masters Tournament.
Sure, he limped home with bogeys over the final two holes to blunt his charge up the leaderboard.
But his opening-round score follows a pattern Woods has established in his 10 years as a professional playing at Augusta National Golf Club.
In each of his four wins, Woods has failed to break 70 in the first round. In fact, he shot 74 in the opening round in 2005, and Phil Mickelson still put the green coat on Woods that Sunday evening.
But Woods was still chafed over how he let his round get away from him. He enters today's second round four shots behind co-leaders Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich.
"I just threw away a good round of golf by bogeying the last two holes," he said. "I battled all day to get back to level (par) and then threw it away on the last two holes. So I'm not very happy about that right now."
Actually, he got it to 1-under par when he birdied the par-5 15th after narrowly missing a makeable eagle putt. He kept his round going with a nifty lag putt from about 45 feet on No. 16 after hitting a pedestrian tee shot on the par-3. He tapped in to escape with par.
That was the last good thing to happen in his round. Erratic driving - he hit only seven of 14 fairways - finally caught up with him. He lived up to his surname on both No. 17 and 18, flaring his drive to the right and into the trees on both holes.
It cost him each time. He punched out from the pine straw into the fairway on the 17th, hit a mediocre pitch that rolled past the hole and onto the fringe of the green. His par chip slid by the cup.
His driving misadventures continued on the next hole. He found the front bunker of the 18th green on his approach shot from the trees. His bunker shot left him a 15-foot par putt, which he missed.
Woods said he was pleased with his putting and the firm, fast and dry course conditions that the Masters hasn't seen since the late 1990s. But he wasn't on good terms with his driver.
"I wasn't driving the ball very well," he said. "I wasn't sweeping it very good."
After a quick interview session with the media behind the No. 18 green, Woods took off for the driving range. He spent the first part of his practice session hitting draws with a short iron and driver.
If he "irons some things out" that he said he needed to do, look for another pattern to emerge today. In his wins in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005, he shot no higher than 69 in the second round.
Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.
