Tiger Woods opened his day with a solid round at Augusta National, putting up a two under 70 to stay close to top of the leaderboard heading into the second day at Augusta, while Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia were in first place at six under after 18 holes.
Woods has won the tournament three times after putting up the same score and while he left a few shots on the course, he appeared ready to roar back on Friday and Saturday and he will get started in the afternoon after teeing off in the morning on Thursday. Woods was looking good early, but ran into some trouble on the 15th hole and also added a bogey on 14 and now sits tied with Jason Day and Ernie Els.
Woods said he felt good about the day and he was solid early after making a birdie on the sixth hole and he also added another one on 13 before pulling off his 14th shot. David Lynn and Jim Furyk were just ahead, while Dustin Johnson was one shot behind the leaders in second place. Last year's winner Bubba Watson had a tough day, shooting a 75 to start things off to defend his title.
Rory McIlroy went par for the day, while another favorite in Phil Mickelson was one under and heading into the second day both will try to improve. The television coverage is on ESPN from 3 to 7 pm, while streaming is on ESPN and the Masters.com website. The Masters website has a number of video options, including a video stream for holes 15 and 16 as well as Amen Corner coverage, On the Range coverage and two featured groups.
The day of competition starts at 8 and a number of big name players are teeing off in the morning, including McIlroy and Mickeslon, while Woods will be in the afternoon. Woods is gearing up to play in his 19th Masters at Augusta, while McIlroy is in his fifth. After starting off the year with a number of poor performances, McIlroy has appeared to turn a corner after finishing second last weekend at the Texas Open behind Martin Laird, who won by two strokes. Phil Mickelson has said he will be using a modified three wood at the tournament instead of a driver in the hopes that it will give him more distance as he tried to win his first Masters since 2010.