Three things to know about the Masters. Yes, one of them is Tiger
The price of badges for the last three days of the Masters went up Thursday.
That’s what happens when Tiger Woods is in contention at Augusta National. Woods shot a 2-under 70 on Thursday, which was good enough to be within one shot of the lead when he closed his round. Second nine charges by leaders Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, who share the first round lead at 6-under, left him four shots back entering Friday’s second round.
The Masters crowd has always loved Woods, and patrons on the back nine roared when they saw his name pop up on the leaderboard at 3-under par after he recorded birdies at Nos. 13 and 14. Woods bogeyed No. 17 to fall back to 2-under.
The 14-time major winner has four green jackets but hasn’t won here since 2005. He only has one top 15 finish since 2011.
“I feel very good,” Wood said. “I feel like I played well today and I controlled my golf ball all day. I’ve shot this number and won four coats, so hopefully I can do it again.”
Pace of play
Dustin Johnson expected his grouping to go slow Thursday but not for the reason that it did. Johnson was grouped with Bryson DeChambeau, the SMU physics graduate who is known as the “Mad Scientist” for all the calculations he makes before each shot.
“It takes a long time,” Johnson said this week of DeChambeu’s style.
But that wasn’t what slowed down the group. It was Jason Day’s back. Day, 31, had to stop early in his round to lay down and the course and be stretched. He walked gingerly for the remainder of his round, stooping painfully every time he had to remove his ball from the hole.
The whole ordeal backed up the final three groups of the Masters. At one point, the two groups behind Johnson, which consisted of Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka. It didn’t seem to hurt Johnson, though. He finished with a 4-under 68 and is two shots off the lead.
War Eagle
It’s been a good sporting month for Auburn. First, the Tigers made an appearance in their first Final Four. And then 33-year-old former Auburn golfer Patton Kizzire showed on the first page of the Masters leaderboard. Kizzire shot a 2-under 70 and was tied for the lead when he finished his round shortly after 4:30. Kizzire has two PGA Tour wins in his career.
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Masters leaderboard
Thursday, First round
Purse: To be annouced, $11 million last year
a-denotes amateur
Bryson DeChambeau | 35-31—66 |
Brooks Koepka | 35-31—66 |
Phil Mickelson | 34-33—67 |
Ian Poulter | 35-33—68 |
Dustin Johnson | 34-34—68 |
Justin Harding | 34-35—69 |
Adam Scott | 35-34—69 |
Jon Rahm | 35-34—69 |
Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 37-32—69 |
Kevin Kisner | 36-33—69 |
Corey Conners | 37-33—70 |
J.B. Holmes | 35-35—70 |
Lucas Bjerregaard | 35-35—70 |
Gary Woodland | 34-36—70 |
Tiger Woods | 35-35—70 |
Rickie Fowler | 37-33—70 |
Cameron Smith | 36-34—70 |
Patton Kizzire | 33-37—70 |
Francesco Molinari | 35-35—70 |
Jason Day | 35-35—70 |
Tony Finau | 36-35—71 |
Charley Hoffman | 36-35—71 |
Louis Oosthuizen | 36-35—71 |
Tommy Fleetwood | 34-37—71 |
Kevin Na | 35-36—71 |
Thorbjorn Olesen | 34-37—71 |
Bernhard Langer | 34-37—71 |
Matt Kuchar | 35-36—71 |
Andrew Landry | 36-36—72 |
Keith Mitchell | 37-35—72 |
Kevin Tway | 35-37—72 |
Mike Weir | 38-34—72 |
Si Woo Kim | 36-36—72 |
Branden Grace | 34-38—72 |
Emiliano Grillo | 36-36—72 |
Kyle Stanley | 37-35—72 |
a-Viktor Hovland | 37-35—72 |
Webb Simpson | 36-36—72 |
Marc Leishman | 35-37—72 |
Haotong Li | 34-38—72 |
Jimmy Walker | 36-36—72 |
Billy Horschel | 35-37—72 |
Bubba Watson | 36-36—72 |
a-Takumi Kanaya | 35-38—73 |
Charles Howell III | 36-37—73 |
Sergio Garcia | 37-36—73 |
Patrick Reed | 38-35—73 |
Xander Schauffele | 35-38—73 |
Rory McIlroy | 36-37—73 |
Sandy Lyle | 35-38—73 |
Martin Kaymer | 36-37—73 |
a-Alvaro Ortiz | 36-37—73 |
a-Jovan Rebula | 37-36—73 |
Rafa Cabrera Bello | 36-37—73 |
Tyrrell Hatton | 34-39—73 |
Patrick Cantlay | 37-36—73 |
Justin Thomas | 36-37—73 |
Eddie Pepperell | 36-38—74 |
Henrik Stenson | 35-39—74 |
Devon Bling | 36-38—74 |
Trevor Immelman | 39-35—74 |
Zach Johnson | 38-36—74 |
Adam Long | 37-38—75 |
Aaron Wise | 35-40—75 |
Brandt Snedeker | 37-38—75 |
Danny Willett | 37-38—75 |
Hideki Matsuyama | 38-37—75 |
Matt Wallace | 40-35—75 |
Alex Noren | 37-38—75 |
Satoshi Kodaira | 38-37—75 |
Justin Rose | 40-35—75 |
Jordan Spieth | 40-35—75 |
Michael Kim | 38-38—76 |
Stewart Cink | 36-40—76 |
Keegan Bradley | 37-39—76 |
Shugo Imahira | 38-38—76 |
Kevin O’Connell | 39-38—77 |
Charl Schwartzel | 38-39—77 |
Larry Mize | 37-40—77 |
Shane Lowry | 38-40—78 |
Fred Couples | 38-40—78 |
Jose Maria Olazabal | 38-40—78 |
Matthew Fitzpatrick | 38-40—78 |
Ian Woosnam | 39-41—80 |
Vijay Singh | 42-38—80 |
Paul Casey | 41-40—81 |
Angel Cabrera | 41-41—82 |
Friday’s Masters Tee Times
8:30 a.m. -- Sandy Lyle, Michael Kim, Patton Kizzire
8:41 a.m. -- Trevor Immelman, Martin Kaymer, Devon Bling*
8:52 a.m. -- Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Stewart Cink
9:03 a.m. -- Jose Maria Olazabal, Kevin Na, Thorbjorn Olesen
9:14 a.m. -- Bernhard Langer, Matt Wallace, Alvaro Ortiz*
9:25 a.m. -- Alex Noren, Keegan Bradley, Matthew Fitzpatrick
9:36 a.m. -- Vijay Singh, Billy Horschel, Jovan Rebula*
9:47 a.m. -- Kevin Kisner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Shugo Imahira
9:58 a.m. -- Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar
10:09 a.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Tyrrell Hatton
10:31 a.m. -- Bubba Watson, Patrick Cantlay, Satoshis Kodaira
10:42 a.m. -- Dustin Johnson, Bryan DeChambeau, Jason Day
10:53 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
11:04 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka
11:15 a.m. -- Andrew Landry, Adam Long, Corey Conners
11:26 a.m. -- Ian Woosnam, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Tway
11:37 a.m. -- Mike Weir, Shane Lowry, Kevin O’Connell*
11:48 a.m. -- Angel Cabrera, Aaron Wise, Justin Harding
11:59 a.m. -- Danny Willett, Brandt Snedeker, Takumi Kanaya*
12:10 p.m. -- Fred Couples, Si Woo Kim, J.B. Holmes
12:32 p.m. -- Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo, Lucas Bjerregaard
12:43 p.m. -- Charl Schwartzel, Charles Howell III, Eddie Pepperell
12:54 p.m. -- Sergio Garcia, Tony Finau, Henrik Stenson
1:05 p.m. -- Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyamu, Kyle Stanley
1:16 p.m. -- Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Viktor Hovland*
1:27 p.m. -- Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman
1:38 p.m. -- Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland
1:49 p.m. -- Tiger Woods, Haoton Li, Jon Rahm
2:00 p.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Smith
This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 5:22 PM.