Masters observations, the return of Tiger Woods and what’s ahead Friday
We’re off and running at the 86th Masters.
The field of 91 opened tournament play at Augusta National on Thursday. Here’s a look at what transpired during the first round of this year’s event and what’s ahead for Friday.
What time does the Masters start today?
The first tee times are at 8 a.m. TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. on ESPN. Viewers can also stream the tournament on ESPN Plus, Paramount Plus and through the Masters’ official website in the United States.
Friday featured groups at the Masters
- 10:12 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
- 10:45 a.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy
- 1:41 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann
- 1:52 p.m.: Hideki Matsyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot
Tiger Woods is on the prowl at Augusta
Well, the roars are back.
Tiger Woods made his highly anticipated return to competitive golf on Thursday following a severe car accident 14 months ago, finishing with a 1-under-par 71 to trail South Korea’s Sungjae Im by four shots.
Woods wasn’t perfect. He left a handful of opportunities out there, including blasting a tee shot into the trees on the par-4 14th that led to a bogey.
But after concern he might never play golf again after a horrific car crash in 2021, let alone contend at Augusta, Thursday was a solid start for Woods considering the circumstances.
Sungjae Im has a good back nine to take first-round lead
Im, 24, fired a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after one day of action at Augusta National. He was steady throughout his round, birdieing his first three holes before a pair of bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11. He closed the round with an eagle at 13 and a birdie on 15.
Im is playing just his third Masters, but he finished second in his debut in 2020 before missing the cut a year ago. He won the Shriners Children’s Open in October, but hadn’t finished better than T20 over his past five events.
Cameron Smith sure looks like a Masters favorite
Put aside the fact Cameron Smith’s mullet is of a bygone era, the Australian can flat out play.
Smith, who entered the week with two wins already this season, including The Players Championship, fired a first-round 68 to head into the clubhouse as the leader when his round wrapped up around 4:30 p.m.
The 28-year-old was slow out of the gate, double bogeying his first hole of the day. He fought back o even by the sixth hole. Then came the back nine.
Smith finished 4-under on the back half of Augusta National and reached as low as 6-under before double bogeying the 18th hole.
Putting is going to become increasingly difficult as the course dries out this weekend, but Smith looked as good as anyone on Thursday.
South Carolina’s Dustin Johnson gunning for second title
Dustin Johnson’s reception during his 2020 Masters win in November was subdued. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Augusta to limit patrons and media members.
On Thursday, though, Johnson welcomed back fans to Augusta National with his bombing drives and solid work on the greens as he carded a 3-under 69 for the day.
The Coastal Carolina product and Columbia native hasn’t played much golf in the past six months, but it hasn’t seemed to matter. He finished fourth at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He was also T9 two weeks earlier at The Players Championship.
Johnson has finished in the top 10 in five of the past six Masters he’s played. The only time he didn’t, he missed the cut last year. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an issue this week.
Give it up for youngsters — Scheffler and Neimann
Scottie Scheffler is quite literally the hottest golfer on the planet right now.
He’s won an absurd three of his past five starts. He was anointed the No. 1 player in the world two weeks ago. Oh, and he’s also just 25 years old.
Scheffler is playing his third Masters, having finished T19 and T18 the previous two outings. He’s feeling as good as anyone in the field right now and should remain in contention throughout the weekend after finishing 3-under on Thursday.
As for Niemann, he’s been pegged as the most recent heir to the title of best player in Latin America. The 23-year-old Chilean finished tied with Scheffler and Danny Willett (more on him in a second) with a 3-under round.
Niemann was a trendy pick to contend this week. He’s only played at Augusta twice before — missing the cut once and finishing T40 on the other occasion — but he’s put himself in the mix early.
Former champ Danny Willett finding form
Danny Willett doesn’t get a lot of credit for his 2016 win at Augusta National. And while Jordan Spieth did choke away a massive lead, Willett handled himself and took home a green jacket.
Perhaps it’s time we pay attention again.
Willett joined Scheffler and Niemann at 3-under on Thursday after finding a quartet of birdies over his last 10 holes.
The Englishman’s results at Augusta since his title aren’t exactly inspiring, finishing T25 in 2020 and missing the cut in his other three tries. But Willett was at ease on Thursday as he looks to carry that momentum into Friday.
Big names — DeChambeau included — off to rough starts
Bryson DeChambeau has been battling injuries for the better part of a year now. He conceded during his press conference on Tuesday he’s probably closer to 80% healthy than 100%.
DeChambeau finished his first round a meager 4-over, recording just two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey. The big-hitting Californian isn’t himself, but it feels increasingly likely he’s not going to find his first top-25 Masters finish this week.
Other big names that struggled on Friday included Matthew Wolff (9-over), Luke List (5-over), Louis Oosthuizen (4-over), Justin Thomas (4-over) and Justin Rose (4-over).
Weather creates problems early, clears late
Rain and mist carried into the morning longer than most anticipated on Thursday. That left the course needing time to dry out throughout the day and pushed tee times back 30 minutes.
Friday is expected to be far clearer when second-round play begins. Temperatures should hover in the high 50s and low-to-mid 60s most of the day, but could climb into the high 60s later in the day.
Wind could play more of a factor for the later groups with the Weather Channel projecting as strong as 20-mph gusts beginning at 3 p.m.
Masters TV coverage today
▪ Friday: 3-7:30 pm, ESPN
▪ Saturday: 3-7 pm, CBS
▪ Sunday: 2-7 pm, CBS
The Masters scores, leaderboard
Live Masters leaderboard here.
Through first Round
- Sungjae Im 67 -5
- Cameron Smith 68 -4
- Danny Willett 69 -3
- Joaquin Niemann 69 -3
- Scottie Scheffler 69 -3
- Dustin Johnson 69 -3
- Jason Kokrak 70 -2
- Corey Conners 70 -2
- Patrick Cantlay 70 -2
Notables
- Tiger Woods 71 -1
- Tony Finau 71 -1
- Webb Simpson 71 -1
- Hideki Matsuyama 72 E
- Lucas Glover 72 E
- Sergio Garcia 72 E
- Bubba Watson 73 +1
- Collin Morikawa 73 +1
- Rory McIlroy 73 +1
- Jon Rahm 74 +2
- Jordan Spieth 74 +2
- Kevin Kisner 75 +3
- Brooks Koepka 75 +3
- Bryson DeChambeau 75 +4
Masters Friday tee times
- 8 a.m. – Sandy Lyle, a-Stewart Hagestad.
- 8:11 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Champ.
- 8:22 a.m. – Bernhard Langer, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Davis.
- 8:33 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Robert MacIntyre, a-Laird Shepherd.
- 8:44 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Takumi Kanaya.
- 8:55 a.m. – Lee Westwood, Russell Henley, Corey Conners.
- 9:06 a.m. – Patrick Reed, Seamus Power, Lucas Herbert.
- 9:17 a.m. – Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, a-Keita Nakajima.
- 9:39 a.m. – Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson, Sungjae Im.
- 9:50 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III.
- 10:01 a.m. – Abraham Ancer, Tyrrell Hatton, Sam Burns.
- 10:12 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa.
- 10:23 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm.
- 10:34 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele.
- 10:45 a.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy.
- 10:56 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, J.J. Spaun.
- 11:18 a.m. – Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, a-Austin Greaser.
- 11:29 a.m. – Larry Mize, Sepp Straka, Francesco Molinari.
- 11:40 a.m. – Fred Couples, Garrick Higgo, Guido Migliozzi.
- 11:51 a.m. – Vijay Singh, Ryan Palmer, K.H. Lee.
- 12:02 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Hudson Swafford, Cameron Young.
- 12:13 p.m. – Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Harry Higgs.
- 12:24 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Si Woo Kim, a-Aaron Jarvis.
- 12:35 p.m. – Luke List, Matthew Wolff, Mackenzie Hughes.
- 12:57 p.m. – Danny Willett, Jason Kokrak, Talor Gooch.
- 1:08 p.m. – Max Homa, Kevin Na, Shane Lowry.
- 1:19 p.m. – Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood.
- 1:30 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith
- 1:41 p.m. – Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann.
- 1:52 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, a-James Piot.
- 2:03 p.m. – Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 8:26 PM.
