Tiger Woods Just Did Something He’s Only Done Once Before at The Masters
Reigning Masters champion Tiger Woods hasn’t had the greatest year on the golf course. After beginning 2020 with a ninth-place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open, the 82-time PGA Tour winner hasn’t finished higher than 37th in the seven starts he’s made since then. Woods finished 68th at the Genesis Invitational in his second tournament of the year, dead last of those that made the cut.
At the Memorial, his first tournament after the season resumed following a three-month layoff due to COVID-19, Tiger finished tied for 40th. He tied for 37th at the PGA Championship, tied for 58th at the Northern Trust, tied for 51st at the BMW Championship, missed the cut at the U.S. Open, and tied for 72nd at the Zozo Championship.
But Tiger Woods finds himself right in the thick of things at the 2020 edition of The Masters. The five-time champ just finished up his first round at Augusta National, shooting a bogey-free 68, marking the first bogey-free round he’s had at a major championship in 105 rounds. It’s also just the second time he’s broken 70 in the first round at The Masters.
How many times has Tiger Woods played The Masters?
The 2020 edition of The Masters marks the 23rd appearance for Tiger Woods at Augusta National.
He made his Masters debut as a 19-year-old amateur in 1995 and took low-amateur honors, finishing tied for 41st. Woods also played as an amateur the following year and missed the cut, the only time he’s missed out on the weekend. In his first appearance as a pro, he broke the all-time scoring record and won by a record 12 shots.
Since then, Tiger has tacked on four more wins and an additional nine top-10s, including two runner-up finishes. Not bad for a guy that struggles to break 70 in the opening round.
Until Thursday, he’d only broken 70 in the first round at Augusta National one time
Up until Thursday’s round, Tiger Woods had only broken 70 in the first round of The Masters on one occasion, that being a 4-under round of 68 back in 2010. Woods shot 11-under that week, five shots behind winner Phil Mickelson, and tied for fourth. Here’s a quick look at every opening round score Tiger has shot in his Masters career, including today’s 4-under round of 68, which obviously matches the best opening round of his Masters career.
- 1995: 72 (T-41)
- 1996: 75 (CUT)
- 1997: 70 (WON)
- 1998: 71 (T-8)
- 1999: 72 (T-18)
- 2000: 75 (5)
- 2001: 70 (WON)
- 2002: 70 (WON)
- 2003: 76 (T-15)
- 2004: 75 (T-22)
- 2005: 74 (WON)
- 2006: 72 (T-3)
- 2007: 73 (T-2)
- 2008: 72 (2)
- 2009: 70 (T-6)
- 2010: 68 (T-4)
- 2011: 71 (T-4)
- 2012: 72 (T-40)
- 2013: 70 (T-4)
- 2015: 73 (T-17)
- 2018: 73 (T-32)
- 2019: 70 (WON)
- 2020: 68 (TBD)
Tiger Woods shot a bogey-free 68 in the first round of the 2020 Masters
Nobody was quite sure what to expect from Tiger Woods during the first round of The Masters but the five-time champion looked fantastic.
Following what was close to a three-hour weather delay, Woods began his day on the back nine and opened with three straight pars. He then made birdie at the par-5 13th, parred the 14th, and then birdied the 15th to get to 2-under. A fantastic tee shot at the par-3 16th gave him a tap-in birdie and he closed his opening nine with two pars to shoot a 3-under 33.
Woods then birdied No. 1 to get to 4-under for the day and then rattled off eight straight pars to close his day. He was three back of leader Paul Casey when he walked off the course.
Stats courtesy of Augusta.com
