Tiger Woods' 1-over 73 in the first round at Masters 2024 with shot-by-shot analysis from Augusta National (2024)

Tiger Woods hits his second shot on no. 1 during a practice round for the 2024 Masters Tournament golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks to a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay Tiger has had plenty of time to warm up and get ready for his first round, and the humid weather at Augusta National today should have him feeling comfortable given all the surgeries he’s had and the metal that’s holding his leg together. Cold and wet is no good for the Cat, but the afternoon weather is purr-fect for him (see what I did there?).

No matter how many operations he’s had or how few of rounds he’s played, expectations are always over the top for Tiger. He expects a lot from himself and wouldn’t tee it up if he didn’t think he can compete. He can absolutely make the cut this week, but he’ll need a solid round today to get started. An even later tee time means Tiger will be racing daylight and may have to finish a few holes on Friday morning. That’ll make for a long day and even earlier start for Woods, who needs a good three hours just to get ready to start his on-course warm-up.

He knows this course better than anyone in the field, and the swirling winds will be a challenge he’ll relish. A comfortable 2-under 70 is my prediction.

What’re we calling this color, rose? Cherry blossom? The man sure loves a vest but let’s be real, it’s still really awkward to see him in the Sun Day Red brand and not the signature Nike swoosh.

If the stars align, Woods thinks he can win again at Augusta National. But first, the cut streak.

Max Homa and Tiger Woods interact during Day One of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 14, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Fore please, now driving Tiger Woods. We’re off and running at the first as Tiger takes 3 wood and hits a beauty down the center of the fairway. Shoutout the cameraman who stayed on Tiger for a good 30-plus seconds as he just stood on the tee box and looked at the ground before his first swing. The guy looks locked in from the jump.

Tiger has historically struggled here at the first (18 over for his career) but that’s a second straight gem of a swing as this one checks up just below the hole, leaving an early eight-footer for birdie. BANG! (Mike Breen voice). The first Tiger roar comes at the first hole after three perfect shots. The Cat is off and running.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 1.

First par 5 of the day and Tiger’s first official shot from the new tee at No. 2. He takes driver and ZOINKS this one went left. He’s not in prison, he’s in the gulag. His ball is right next to a tree on the pine straw and could call for an unplayable lie (unless he goes lefty).

He’s Tiger Woods, so of course he takes a wedge, flips it upside down and punches out left-handed into the fairway. That’s a dangerous shot because he could’ve caught the tree or a root doing that. Instead he picks it clean like a 15-time major champion. This guy.

With 191 yards to the green, guarded to the front left and right by a bunker, Tiger airmails the green going for the back pin and will get friendly with the patrons with his fourth shot. He doesn’t have a lot of green to work with, so it’s time to get creative again. Tiger goes with the wedge and not the putter and hits a nifty little chip to leave a knee-knocking five-footer to get up and down for par. What a 5 that is. Lefty from the pine straw against a tree. Gets up and down with negative green to work with. Impressive.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 2.

YAHTZEE! Tiger takes driver from the bag again but this one is launched down the right side of the fairway. That’s a 334-yard bomb. With just 23 yards left, Tiger tried to flight this chip low and bump it into the front slope but the ball just didn’t check enough and rolls out 12 feet past the hole. Rain earlier in the day made the greens a lot more receptive than usual but you can tell the sun and wind are beginning to dry these bad boys out.

Tiger gave this putt a lot of respect and aimed wide left but the line didn’t have the break that he saw. Misses on the pro side, high and left, and taps in for his par. He’s moving pretty well so far and looks confident and committed to each shot. The question is, can he keep it up for 15 more holes?

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 3.

Tiger’s first par 3 of the day, let’s see how the ballstriking is today. The wind is WHIPPING at the fourth and Tiger hit a straight bullet that cut through the wind (and the green for that matter). He’ll have 20 yards or so to the pin with not much green to work with once again.

He tried another bump and run from beyond the green but this one took a big kick when it landed and rolled well beyond the friendship zone. He’s gonna have to work for this par with a 12-foot putt awaiting. This one had some serious right-to-left break and almost swung in from the side but just trickled beyond the cup. That’s a tough bogey to give back his early birdie.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 4.

MASHED POTATOES! Woods hits a cozy but long fade that just peels off the bunker guarding the left side of the fairway and comes to rest just south of 300 yards down the center of the fairway. He’ll have a long iron into the green, his first of the day. From the fairway Tiger hit his ball to where I am at a wedding: the middle of the dance floor. It’s a safe shot to a back-left pin guarded by a bunker behind and a nasty slope up front. His putt just misses the hole and he taps in for par. Nothing to see here, moving on.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 5.

Tiger stepped off this tee shot as the wind picked up and swirled and just missed his landing area by a foot when he did pull the trigger. The back-left pin sits on a plateau and Tiger’s ball just rolled off it and came to rest about 40 or so feet away. This is his first lag putt of the day, which shows how good his irons and wedges have been so far early on.

This putt was … what’s the word … bad. Just bad. He left the uphill effort well short. Short of short. Never even had a chance short. That’s not the kind of effort we’re used to seeing from the 15-time major champion. He converts the knee-knocker from five feet for par so no harm no foul but sheesh that could’ve been bad.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 6.

Tiger held back with a 3 wood here on the straight and narrow par 4 but tugged this one left into the rough. At least it’s not in the woods behind a tree this time. He’s been so far, so good off the tee aside from those two miscues. The green is heavily guarded on all sides by bunkers, and the front-right pin won’t be easy to attack from there. He’ll be playing for par on this one.

Can’t tell if this was an intentional layup into the bunker or if he was going for the green but, either way, he’s in the sandy stuff short and right of the green. In Tiger’s defense after a rainy morning it’s a beautiful day for a trip to the beach. This out from the sand was finger-looking good and left just a two-foot kick in for par. Cool, calm, collected so far today for the Big Cat.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 7.

The big dog pulled the big stick and this one was howling down the fairway a whopping 324 yards. You know it’s good when Tiger picks up the tee before the ball lands. Tiger rode the wind all the way to the right side of the green from 242 yards out to set up a good chance to get back in the red numbers with either a lengthy eagle or short birdie. His first long putt of the day was left criminally short, let’s see what he’s got from here.

Not a bad effort except for the fact it was left a bit short (although that’s certainly better than too long). Tiger took a bit of time to check this one out and he trickles it in for a much-needed birdie before the turn.

“That almost went right at the end,” he said with a chuckle to new caddie Lance Bennett.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 8.

My goodness, this guy. He’s pushing 50 and still getting upwards of 180 mph ball speed. That’s like a 50-year-old Randy Johnson pumping 100 mph gas from the pitcher’s mound. A nice, safe approach here at No. 9 finds the middle of the green, just outside 30 feet below the hole.

Wow, another putt left short. Not sure if this is calculated at this point or if he’s just really struggling with the pace of these greens in the wind. Either way, that’s a no-stress par to close out the first (not front, remember, we’re at Augusta National) nine in the red.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 9.

Tiger Woods tees off on No. 5 during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network)

This could very well be my favorite hole on the course. The long par 4 requires an accurate tee shot down the right-hand side to have any look at birdie and that’s precisely what the Big Cat did here. 306 yards. Short grass. He’ll have 204 yards to the back right pin, which is guarded to the front right by a long bunker.

As soon as he hit his approach he knew he blew it. This one just didn’t move the way he wanted and splashed into the sand. Seems like he may have been a bit puzzled by the wind. No problem from there as Tiger pops his ball onto the green inside five feet for an up-and-down par to keep the momentum alive early on the second nine.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 10.

Say your prayers, golf fans, because we’ve reached Amen Corner.

Grip it, rip it, twirl it. Tiger smoked another drive down the fairway and battled some gusting winds with his approach. A sawed-off iron drew short and right of the green, leaving a 26-yard chip to the front pin location. Wow was this good. He picked this one perfectly and spun it and stopped it just short of the pin. That’s a kick-in par. What was the name of that old MTV dating show? Next.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 11.

Arguably the most picturesque par 3 in the world is a real beast this evening as the winds are gusting and swirling in the back corner of the property. This tee shot will not be easy.

All three players missed the green: Day was short and left, Homa somehow saw his ball come to rest between the bunker and Rae’s Creek and Woods’ tee shot skipped off the back of the green and into the flower bed.

This is a nasty downhill lie. Everything runs towards the creek. Tiger couldn’t take a normal stance but somehow was able to lightly poke this onto the green and leave a five-footer to save par. That’s about as good as you can do there. Walks it in and strolls up the hill to the 13th tee with a little pep in his step as the sun continues to drop behind the trees. Needed that.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 12.

FORE RIGHT. His first miscue off the tee in quite some time cuts into the cluster of trees off the right fairway here at the tricky 13th. As if this hole needed to be any more challenging.

Tiger had a small window to punch out and advance up the fairway and he couldn’t have done much better from that spot. His ball trickled out of the pine straw, through the rough and just into the short stuff on the right side, leaving 191 yards to get up and down for what would be an epic par save at the end of his day.

Not a bad shot here to find the middle of the green, just outside 20 feet from the pin, though he clearly wanted it closer to save his par. Stop me if you heard this one before, but this putt came up short for Tiger. That’s a tap-in for par on his last hole of the day as play has officially been suspended due to darkness.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 13.

Tiger Woods warms up prior to the continuation of the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:51 p.m. ET and the first round resumed at 7:50 a.m. ET.

And we’re back! It’s a brisk but sunny morning here at Augusta National and Tiger picked up where he left off on Thursday with a smooth swing to start the day. That’s a 314-yard rocket off the tee.

Tiger didn’t have a single hitch in his giddy-up yesterday but he’s laboring early this morning, especially after this approach. Tiger leaves it well short, but it doesn’t look like it was the wrong club. Just poor contact from a stiff, surgically repaired body that isn’t up to speed just yet. Yeah, he’s not ready just yet. This chip goes well past the hole, leaving more than 20 feet to save par. Just like yesterday he left this putt short and that’s an early dropped stroke. Not the start he wanted after such as strong performance on Thursday.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 14.

He’s gingerly walking this morning, every step is slow and steady and we’ve already seen a grimace or two. Tiger’s new normal requires multiple hours of prep and treatment before he can even go to the range, so it’s going to be a long day. On top of all that, he’s now had to stand and wait on the 15th tee for five minutes before playing his second hole of the day.

No twirl but he liked this one as he fires another missile down the fairway here at 15. You can tell he’s just so uncomfortable in these early-morning brisk conditions. Tiger cozies an iron up just short of the water here at the 15th and leaves a 70-yard wedge to the green. Anything short is no good as the entire complex runs back to front, and anything short of the green is bound for the pond.

Well, he certainly wasn’t short. Tiger threw this wedge high and long and his ball soared over the back edge as he missed his second green in regulation in as many holes. For how good his first two tee shots have been, his first two approaches have been as equally bad. He nearly made up for the blown approach with a chip-in but his ball just missed the edge of the cup. That’s a tap-in par to stop the bleeding. Three to go.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 15.

After watching Max Homa throw a dart and Jason Day rinse one (good lord his outfit is awful again today) Tiger found the green with a smooth swing to set up his first look at birdie on the day from about 20 feet away. Can’t blame that missed birdie putt on his comfort level (or lack thereof). He consistently left putts short on Thursday and the trend continues on Friday. Rare to see from Tiger.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 16.

Another solid swing off the tee finds the fairway. If he stops and talks after his round (doubt it, it’ll be a quick turnaround before his second round starts) I’d be curious to know why he’s so comfortable off the tee but not over shorter shots when it’s early and brisk. This is more like it. Tiger hit a comfy approach to the middle of the green, leaving a 20-footer uphill for another birdie look. One of these putts has to go past the hole, it just has to. He’s been so cautious on the greens, he needs to give something a run eventually. Another putt left short and another par. I’ve never seen him play this careful on the greens.

TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 17.

Hello, Holly. Tiger comes to the last hole at even par on his round but once again has to wait on the tee box for the group ahead. No need for Tiger to watch this tee shot, pures it down the fairway and immediately picks up the tee. If he can carry this confidence off the tee into the second round, he’s gonna be in good shape this afternoon. Tiger got a little loose with this approach shot as he finds the bunker guarding the right side of the green. He’ll have plenty of green to work with from there, will be interesting to see how he handles getting in and out of the bunker.

His out rolled past the hole and just off the edge on the fringe, leaving a testy 12-footer to try and save par and stay even. No dice, the putt misses the edge and that’s a tough bogey to end what was a promising round. Not awful, but certainly could’ve been better.

TIGER ON THE DAY: 1-over 73.