Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods.
Getty/Patrick Smith
  • Tiger Woods kicked off the 2020 Masters with his best ever opening round, finishing with a bogey-free four-under-par round of 68.
  • “I did everything well,” Woods said after. “I drove it well, hit my irons well, putted well.”
  • Despite the strong start, however, Woods still didn’t post the best round of the day, with Englishman Paul Casey shooting five birdies and an eagle to finish seven-under par.
  • In Woods’ five career Masters victories his previous lowest opening round was a two-under 70, which he shot in his 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2019 wins.
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Tiger Woods kicked off the 2020 Masters in style, enjoying his best ever opening round to send an ominous warning to the rest of the pack at Augusta. 

The 44-year-old, who took home the green jacket last year, posted his first ever bogey-free opening round at the tournament finishing with a four-under-par round of 68, equalling his best ever Thursday score.

“I did everything well,” he declared after. “I drove it well, hit my irons well, putted well. The only real bad shot I hit today was on the eighth. I had a perfect number with a 60-degree sand wedge and I hit it on the wrong shelf.

“Other than that, I just did everything well. The only thing I could say is that I wish I could have made a couple more putts.”

 

In Woods' five career Masters victories his previous lowest opening round was a two-under 70, which he shot in his 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2019 wins. His previous opening round 68 came in 2010, when he eventually finished tied for fourth, five shots behind winner Phil Mickelson.

Despite the strong start, however, Woods still didn't post the best round of the day, with Englishman Paul Casey shooting five birdies and an eagle to finish seven-under par, while 10 other plays also broke 70.

"I got off to a fast start, which is good, but I think everyone has," Woods added. "Everyone is going low out there, and with these conditions, you have to."

Play was suspended in the morning for almost three hours due to storms and heavy rain, resulting in 44 of the 92 players being unable to complete their rounds.

"You have to be aggressive, and there's no reason why you can't fire at a lot of the flags. Like today on five, I hit a little squeezer off the tee and had 227 yards to the hole, hit a four-iron to the back edge and it only rolled out a foot. That doesn't happen here.

"There are wedges that are ripping back, that you have to watch spin. That's probably not the case, you're trying to find spin around here. But this is the way the golf course is going to play for the next couple of days. You can hear all the SubAir is on [Augusta's high tech system for drying the course] so it'll be a little bit different."

Read more:

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THEN AND NOW: What the stars of the Masters looked like when their careers began

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