Tiger's ups and downs
Woods 'right there' after his plodding round
Tiger Woods played a tranquil round Thursday in the 72nd Masters Tournament.
Too tranquil.
No Augusta roars. Too many Augusta groans.
Woods opened his quest for a fifth green jacket with 12 straight pars, made head-scratching bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14, followed by an eagle at No. 15, and slinked away happy to be just four shots off the lead at even par.
"There's really no roars out there anymore because it's hard to make the eagles and the big birdies," Woods said after his round. "The way the golf course plays now, you don't really shoot low rounds here any more. You've got to plod along."
Woods has been laboring for a while now. Thursday's round was his fifth straight without breaking par in the Masters and his 10th straight round without breaking 70. He has gone 34 holes without a birdie at Augusta National, the longest stretch of his career.
Still, Woods senses the end of those streaks coming soon, perhaps today. Though the statistics don't support it -- he hit 10 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation -- Woods said he hit the ball well in the opening round.
"I played a lot better than my score indicates," Woods said.
The bogey at No. 13 skewed Woods' score. He hit what "I thought was a perfect shot" on the approach, a 4-iron from 215 yards that hit the middle of the green. The ball hit hard, though, and rolled off the back of the green.
With the pin tucked on a ledge in a rear corner of the putting surface, Woods faced a difficult decision: putt the ball onto the green and leave himself a long putt for birdie or try a delicate pitch toward the flag.
"I'm pitching good, I can pull this off," Woods told his caddie, Steve Williams. "I can keep it on the top shelf."
He didn't. He left the pitch short of the green, and the ball rolled back toward him. He putted his fourth shot then needed two more putts to finish the hole.
His frustration carried over to No. 14, where he made another bogey. Just when it looked like Woods might implode, he chipped in for eagle from behind the 15th green. He finished his round with three straight pars.
Woods' even-par round left him four shots behind Justin Rose and Trevor Immelman. He has only 16 other players ahead of him, though. Plus, slow starts have failed to sidetrack him in other years -- he shot 70 in the opening round of three of his victories, 74 in the other.
"I kept myself in the tournament. I'm right there," Woods said. "If the weather worsens on the weekend, I'll be right there."
