Live coverage of Tiger Woods first round at the 2023 Masters

He’s likely the greatest golfer that’s ever lived, and he’s back at the place that’s defined his career more than anywhere else. Tiger Woods is in the 2023 Masters, and despite continued leg injuries, he’s still competitive around the course that can be challenging for anyone with an injured leg to walk.

We charted every stroke here so you can get caught up on his round during Thursday at Augusta National. Tiger finished the day at +2, nine shots back of his fellow competitor and the leader in Viktor Hovland.

Hole No. 18: Bogey: A tough break on his drive, as Woods was in a spot where he was standing on the edge of the fairway bunker despite being in the fairway. It left his second in a bunker, and a poor shot left him too long a putt to make.

Hole No. 17: Par: A great drive on the Par 4 known as Nandina, and without the Eisenhower Tree it’s still a tough hole. An approach right to the center of the green, and then two putts for par. Very well played here.

Hole No. 16: Birdie: Front pin today, so just tuck it close and spin it back. Make the putt, and get to +1 for the tournament. This is Tiger at his best, and where course knowledge the lower part of the track is so helpful.

Hole No. 15: Birdie: A big putt on the Par 5 for his best rock roll of the day gets Tiger back to +2. A tee shot that was in the fairway but well left meant he laid up to a number inside the walkway. The wedge was hole high but yanked a bit left, but the putt from 20+ feet was perfectly holed.

Hole No. 14: Par: The driver that had been so good to Woods all morning is leaving him, and this time he’s left. The approach came up short and left as well, but a great chip left him hole high after facing away and using the slope of the green to three feet. A good scramble.

Hole No. 13: Par: The newly-lengthened No. 13 saw Woods hit it almost to the pine straw on the right. That took any chance of going up for the green in two away, so he laid up to a number. But the approach went far, and a two-putt par to leave Amen Corner behind.

Hole No. 12: Par: There’s only one way to play the Par 3: Safe off the tee, two putts, walk up the new hill to 13 Tee. That’s what Woods did with his iron right in the middle of the green. Still at +3 on a day where the scoring has been robust, so he’ll need to find some red numbers on the back.

Hole No. 11: Bogey: A brutal swing on his second left Tiger way long and right, chipping back to a tight pin to start Amen Corner. He failed to get up-and-down and is back to +3 as he heads to No. 12 tee.

Hole No. 10: Par. The famous downhill draw saw Tiger miss his first fairway of the day left, but a magical iron from the second cut and around a tree saw him hole high with an uphill 15 footer for birdie. But another leave below the line saw a tap-in par.

Hole No. 9: Par. A nice save here after yet another terrific drive. Woods came out of his stance as soon as he made contact with his approach iron, and left it well right and short of the green. But when you’ve been playing the course for nearly 30 years, you know to go past the hole and let it funnel on a back tee pin placement on No. 9. Despite chipping the ball into the fringe, it was within the flagstick when it stopped rolling. A good scramble here.

Hole No. 8: Birdie. Maybe we will be working on Saturday. The 570-yard Yellow Jasmine saw Eldrick hit yet another spectacular drive. He’s been nails off the tee all day. But a very aggressive second with a fairway metal saw him come up short and below the hole on the left side. But the chip was breathtaking, and left him a tap-in for his first red number of 2023.

Hole No. 7: Bogey. We might be looking at a short week for this blog. A great drive down the left side left Tiger about 160 on an upslope. And while his approach hit right in the center of the green near the pin, the undulations of Augusta had the ball run down the right side to about 22 feet and hole high with an uphill putt. But he flew it past in search of a birdie, and left about five feet coming back. But he burned yet another left edge, and that’s two three-putts for Woods so far.

Hole No. 6: Par. A nice iron hit on line with the hole and a bit past while still holding the green on the 180-yard Par 3. But he left the 12-foot putt a bit below the hole, and tapped in for par.

Hole No. 5: Bogey. Another great drive left a long iron that was short, but still on the green. And then the three-jack monster got to the GOAT, who left himself about six feet up the hill. But he lipped it out left, and Tiger is +2 with all the shots lost in the short game so far.

Hole No. 4: Par. Disaster avoided on the monster Par 3 with the shallow green. Tiger missed the front bunker by mere inches, but stuck the landing as his ball didn’t roll off the back either despite a lengthy putt. He didn’t play enough break and left it below the hole from about 25 feet. A half-a-wedge length tap-in up the hill got him to the next.

Hole No. 3: Bogey. A flawless drive left a simple flip wedge on the 350 yard Par 4 some of the bombers will try and reach this week. But Tiger simply duffed it, having the ball roll 15 yards down the front edge of a green he simply missed. His third was to about nine feet, but he missed the comebacker and puts up the first square on his card for the day.

Hole No. 2: Par. A drive into the fairway bunker forced a layup to a number on the long Par 5 that might not have been reachable anyway. He put it long and right over the bunker protecting the front pin, and despite the long putt he gave himself a chance from about 40 feet, rolling it just past the hole and about a ball outside the left edge.

Hole No. 1: Par. Tiger drove it right down the middle to thunderous applause from the patrons. A second right into the middle of the multi-tiered green from the swale in the middle of the fairway left him a lag putt he left about three feet short. But a confident stroke up the hill got him home with a par on the challenging first. And just so you have it, here is some video of Tiger teeing off to start his 2023 Masters.