Frustrated Tiger opens with 74
Updated: April 9, 2005, 10:18 AM ET
Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Putting a ball into the water usually only happens on a hole with a windmill.
That didn't stop Tiger Woods from dunking one Thursday at The Masters.
AP Photo/Morry GashWoods has failed to break par in his last three first rounds at The Masters.
In a bizarre opening to his bid for a fourth green jacket, Woods watched helplessly as his eagle putt on the 13th hole ended up in Rae's Creek instead of the bottom of the cup.
A seemingly routine birdie turned into a bad bogey -- and that was just the start of his afternoon of misery on a rain-soaked Augusta National course.
By the time darkness brought his round to an end after only 12 holes, Woods also had a shot hit a pin and go into a bunker and played from one set of trees to another on a hole he usually handles with ease.
He returned Friday to find even more problems, hitting a tree on the eighth hole for a bogey and finishing his first round at 2-over 74, seven shots off the lead. Woods signed his scorecard and headed toward the clubhouse, saying only "gotta eat" when asked about his first round.
The day before, Woods committed one of golf's ultimate sins when he stroked a 70-footer that sped past the hole and didn't stop moving until it reached the water.
Things didn't get any better on a day when Woods tossed clubs, kicked his bag, and looked as frustrated as The Masters officials watching thunderstorms delay the first round by more than five hours.
Just for good measure, Woods had to sit through a review by Masters officials over whether he was standing astride the hole while tapping in a putt on the 14th hole. After looking at video, officials ruled there was no violation.
It wasn't what Woods envisioned two days earlier when he told the media his game was peaking.
"I know my ball striking is there," Woods said.
Whether he felt the same after a gloomy first day wasn't known. After being driven in from the course when play was suspended by darkness, Woods declined comment and quickly drove off with a rules official.
Whatever he was thinking couldn't have been good.
Woods not only putted a ball in the water, he also duck-hooked a drive into a tree on No. 2 and then sprayed his next shot into the trees all the way on the other side of the fairway.
Disgusted, he kicked at his bag as he walked up to the ball in the woods. He then hit his next shot into a greenside bunker and had to hole a 25-footer for par.
And even when Woods hit it good, bad things happened.
His wedge on the first hole hit the pin, only to kick back and roll into the front bunker. What likely would have been a birdie turned into a bogey, further dampening his mood.
And he didn't get much sympathy from one of his competitors.
"He's had a few good breaks over his career," Chris DiMarco said. "It's golf. It's just the way it is."
Woods had to start on the back nine when thunderstorms forced Masters officials to juggle tee times. He was 1-over after three holes when he came to the 13th, which traditionally ranks as one of the easiest holes on the course.
Woods reached the green of the par-5 with a tough shot out of the pines, but his ball bounded some 70 feet past the pin tucked in front. He lined up his eagle putt, gave it a rap with his putter and watched as it raced past the hole, picked up speed and rolled off the green.
Woods was walking toward the hole when the ball disappeared, going down the hill and rolling into the water. He took off his cap in disbelief as Williams ran for the bag he had left on the next tee in case his boss wanted to try to wedge it out of the water.
Instead, Woods called over a rules official and placed another ball where his had originally been. Then he putted again, this time for par. That putt ended up about a foot from the hole, and Woods tapped in for bogey.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
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