AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods is chasing more history at Augusta National, just not the variety he prefers.
Woods can set a Masters record by making his 24th consecutive cut, a task made more challenging by having to play nearly as many holes Friday (23) as he had all year (24).
He was among 27 players who could not finish the weather-delayed first round. In the five holes Woods completed, he failed to birdie the par-5 15th and twice made bogey from the fairway. That give him a 1-over 73, the sixth straight round at Augusta National that he has failed to break par. He still was inside the projected cut when he started his second round.
The top the leaderboard didn’t change.
Bryson DeChambeau, who opened with a 7-under 65, has a one-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler. the world’s No. 1 player and the only one who played bogey-free in the first round.
Tiger Woods hits from the bunker on the 18th hole during weather delayed first round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Friday, April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
The large gallery following Woods at least saw some good golf. That came from Max Homa, who got within one shot of the lead when his approach to the 17th came inches away from going in for an eagle.
But his approach to the 18th leaked just enough to find the right bunker, and Homa failed to get up-and-down to save par. He finished with a 67 and was tied at 5 under with Masters rookie Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark.
Homa said the restart didn’t quite have the same energy as the previous afternoon.
“I don’t think you can get the same vibe, but it helps playing with Tiger,” Homa said. “You’re very excited to wake up and go play.”
The first round ended with 26 players under par. The top 50 and ties make the cut, and Woods was inside that number when he made the quick turnaround and teed off for the second round.
DeChambeau and Scheffler played in the afternoon, facing troublesome gusts of wind, even if they weren’t quite as strong as Thursday.
Woods didn’t look quite as limber, likely a product of having 12 hours from the time he walked off the 13th green after play was suspended by darkness until he hit his tee shot to resume the round. And it was cooler than it was Thursday afternoon.
He came well short of the 14th green and chipped too strongly some 20 feet by the hole leading to bogey. On the par-5 15th, his wedge went over the green and he had to save par. And then he missed a 12-foot par putt on the 18th.
It could have worse — something Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson know firsthand.
Spieth’s hopes might have ended with one hole. He was still 2 over for the round playing the 15th when he went just over the green. Spieth chipped back toward the front pin and watched it roll all the way off the green, down the slope and into the water.
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He had to go back across the pond, went long again and wound up with a quadruple-bogey 9. Spieth also missed a 2-foot par putt on the 17th hole and shot 79. In his previous 10 appearances, Spieth had never posted worse than a 76.
Johnson was 1 over coming to the scoring part of the back nine when he went the other direction. He missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th. He got stuck in the trees left of the 14th on his way to double bogey. And then he hit wedge into the pond on the 15th for another double bogey. That added to a 78.
British Open champion Brian Harman found water on the 13th (double bogey) and the par-3 16th (triple bogey) and shot 47 on the back nine for an 81.
The forecast is good for the rest of the week, and the Masters already was back on schedule with the second round starting on time even as players were finishing the first round.
