To borrow a famous line from Phil Mickelson, what an idiot I am.

My intentions were good. Walk step for step with Tiger Woods at the Masters Tournament, then paint a picture of what it was like to follow a rock star up close for his first round at Augusta National Golf Club.

So what happens? In the process of tracking him for five hours, 22 minutes, I missed Woods' most crowd-pleasing moment while I was trying to get into position to see his third shot on the par-5 15th.

As Woods' eagle chip-in from just behind the green was dropping, my ears had to take in what my eyes missed. I arrived from the path behind the bleachers about 10 seconds too late.

Chalk it up to making the rookie Masters mistake of thinking that stalking Woods would be a nice stroll through the pines. On this hilly 7,445-yard layout, it was more like a frustrating Stairmaster workout.

Without media access inside the ropes (the only tournament where that privilege is denied), you soon learn that the best sight line to watch Woods playing Augusta is usually right in front of a television.

I'm not sure which was harder: Woods squeezing an even-par 72 on a day when he missed every birdie putt, or trying to find a spot to watch all his shots, even with binoculars, in clear view.

Spectators who park themselves at certain vantage points throughout the course see plenty of golf with minimal muscle movement.

If you're going to follow one competitor from a reasonably close distance, though, that player's name had better not be Eldrick Woods.

Unless you're Manute Bol, it's just too much of a hit-or-miss proposition. I spent a good part of the day on the tips of my feet, trying to stretch up to catch glimpses of Woods.

Many times, it was impossible to get a full picture. Except for along the fairway, Woods' galleries were typically five to 25 rows deep on the tee or during his putts.

It's not like Woods was burning up the scoreboard with red numbers, triggering a Tiger stampede. He opened with 12 consecutive pars, followed by two bogeys, extending his streak of consecutive Masters without a sub-70 first round to 14.

The only big roar Woods heard until that eagle chip-in was at 1:15 p.m. on the sixth tee, when Ian Poulter found the bottom of the cup with his tee shot on the par-3 16th hole.

When the venue is Augusta National, however, spectators are going to get only so many favorable glimpses of the golf world's most accomplished and popular athlete, even on a day where Woods' overall performance was blasÃ, at least by his exceedingly high standards.

"Well, the way the (Augusta National) golf course plays now, you don't really shoot low rounds here anymore," Woods said. "You've just got to plod along."

Ditto for spectators trying to follow Woods. It's a workout just to get an occasional good view.

Fortunately, Woods did spend almost a half-hour on the putting green afterwards. I was able to get in the front row, the closest I would get to him all day.