Tiger Woods 'proud of whole team' after positive return in Masters

Tiger Woods heaped praise on his “whole team” after the five-time Masters winners came through his eagerly-anticipated return from a serious leg injury with flying colours at Augusta National.

Playing in his first full-blown event since November 2020, the 46-year-old posted a one-under-par 71 that included two 2s in front of one of the biggest galleries in the game’s history.

“I’m proud of my whole team, we worked so hard – people have no idea how hard we worked each and every day,” said Woods, who feared his right leg might be amputated following a car crash in Los Angeles 14 months ago.

“We’ve never taken a day off, and so once I got out of bed after three months away, there were no days off.

Tiger Woods walks off the 18th green after finishing his round during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

“There were easier days than others, when my leg might not work that well that day, but we did something every single day. That led me to this, to this opportunity to play in the Masters – and as of right now, I’m only three back.

“We’ve got a long way to go, this is a marathon and a lot of things can happen – the weather’s gonna change, this golf course is gonna dry out and make it interesting. But it’s nice to get off to a positive start.”

Woods raised a huge roar as he set up his first birdie of the day at the short sixth before rolling in a 25-footer at the 16th. In between, he’d also birdied the 13th and dropped shots at the eighth and 14th.

“That was a good one,” he said of the 2 at the 16th in the company of 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.

“I got a little teach from Louis’ putt, it slid up a little at the end and snapped. I’ve hit that putt in a practice round and always under-read it.

“It was good to get that affirmation from Louis that that putt does snap at the end. So I gave it an extra ball and a half outside the right, and it poured right in the middle.”

While Woods has always insisted that his career is defined by wins, he admitted that this was an exception.

“Yes,” he said in reply to being asked if simply playing here felt like a victory, having spent three months lying in a hospital-style bed at home in Florida and not even being able to get into his living room.

Explaining how he felt that way, he added: “If you would have seen how my leg looked to where it's at now.

“Some of the guys know. They've seen the pictures, and they've come over to the house and they've seen it. To get from there to here, it was no easy task.”

Woods had described this week as the “challenge of a major marathon” due to the undulating nature of Augusta National and the walk on this occasion was even more demanding due to it being rain-softened.

“No, it did not get easier, let's put it that way,” he said of that. “I can swing a golf club. The walking isn’t easy, and it's difficult.

“My leg, it's going to be difficult for the rest of my life. That's just the way it is, but I'm able to do it.

“That's something I'm very lucky to have this opportunity to be able to play, and not only that, to play in the Masters and to have this type of reception.

“I mean, the place was electric. I hadn't played like this since '19 when I won because in '20 we had Covid and we had no one here, and I didn't play last year.

“So to have the patrons fully out and to have that type of energy out there was awesome to feel.”

Reflecting on his round, Woods admitted their had been both good and bad. “I'll start off with disappointment,” he said. “Just making bogey from 50 yards on the 8th. Lack of concentration on the first one. Second one, lack of commitment. Then a blocked putt. So just three bad shots in a row.

“But, as far as the good stuff, to finish in the red today after as long a layoff as I've had and not being in competitive golf.

“To play this golf course and to do what I did today, to hit the shots in the right spots and give myself good angles. I did that all day, and I was able to make a few putts and finish in the red. I'm only four back. I'm right where I need to be.”

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