Stay calm! Tiger Woods has his Masters swagger back – now the rest is up to his body

There is nothing like the roar of the patrons echoing through the trees at Augusta National. Scratch that. There is nothing like the roar of the patrons echoing through the trees at Augusta National after a Tiger Woods birdie.

It’s the first time the five-time Masters champion has etched a number three into his scorecard on this course’s opening hole since 1999 – a sentence so ludicrous it should end with an exclamation mark.

Ten minutes earlier, Woods had bounded onto the tee to that familiar welcome reserved only for the greatest player to have ever picked up a golf club. His shoulders pushed back. That familiar laser-like focus etched across his face.

It was a stark juxtaposition to the Grand Slam-chasing Rory McIlroy, who was just a few feet away on the ninth green displaying the kind of body language that suggested he would really rather be anywhere else.

And as McIlroy headed off in the opposite direction to his idol-turned-best friend-turned-business partner, Woods unleashed a slinging cut that split the fairway before flicking an iron to the middle of the green to set up an immediate move into red numbers.

It was, as it turned out, as exciting as it got for Woods and his loyal legion. He bogeyed the fourth having airmailed the green to move back to level par before picking that shot back up at the eighth after a lengthy eagle putt just stayed out. His group, that also included Jason Day and Max Homa, finished Amen Corner before a lack of daylight stopped play on an opening day that was delayed by early storms in this corner of Georgia.

And while Woods still hasn’t finished his opening round, it’s a huge tick in the metaphorical box marked “get through Thursday unscathed”.

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Woods had said in his post tournament press conference that, in terms of his fitness, “every shot that’s not on a tee box is a challenge”.

Tomorrow, though, is a different day. And that, by Woods’ own admission, brings its own issues, with certain parts of his body that “just flare up”.

“Some days I feel really good,” he added. “Other days, not so much.”

Woods ended the day as one of 31 players under par, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He has to play 23 holes on Friday. And with his back and knee “taking the brunt” after his fused ankle surgery, we may not see the bouncing Tiger we saw on Thursday.

As Jack Nicklaus, the only man with one more Green Jacket than Woods, said earlier in the day after the inevitable question: “He’s got a tough way to go to win. He’ll certainly hit the ball well enough to do so, whether he physically can handle what has to happen with it.

“He’s also got to be able to score better than everybody else, too. That’s part of the deal.”

Nicklaus said the last part with that familiar wry smile we’ve come to love over the years. But he’s not wrong. It’s not just a case of getting round this golf course when you’re nowhere near peak physical fitness, but to do that and finish above 88 opponents?

“We’ve got some work to do yet tonight,” Woods said afterwards when asked how he was feeling.

It’s Mission: Improbable, but enjoy it while you can. Because Woods’ body is a ticking time bomb just waiting to blow up your dreams.

Listen to more of what we have to say on the Masters daily commute episodes of The bunkered Podcast from Augusta.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor