Tiger Woods enters the Masters at Augusta National as the perennial favorite after getting off to a hot start on the tour this season by winning three tournaments and he did not disappoint on Thursday, shooting a 2-under-par 70, a score he is very familiar with and one that has put him in the green jacket on three other occasions in the past and on friday he continued and shared a part of the lead at one point heading into the weekend and now he may be disqualified after he may have missed a penalty stroke on the 15th hole.
Woods finished his day on Thursday at the time four strokes back from leader Australia's Marc Leishman, who put up a six under 66 to take the lead as he walked off the course and headed into Friday's round. David Lynn, who is in his first Augusta Masters, is two behind at four under, while Rickie Fowler also is four back after posting a 68 to give the young American a very strong day in the first round.
The leaderboard at the tournament is bunched at the top, with a number of players at three strokes back, including Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman, while Woods is right behind that group. Woods is tied with a number of players at two under, including Justin Rose, David Toms, Kevin Na, as well as Lee Westwood, John Huh, Jason Day and Adam Scott, who memorably came in second at two majors last year after collapsing.
Woods came close to having an exceptional day, but he left a few shots out on the course, including on the 14th hole where he put in a bogey, which kept him from getting under 70 on the first day. Woods is trying to win his 15th major and his first since 2008 when he won the US Open. He hasn't won the Masters at Augusta since 2005 and he would love it if he could get his fifth green jacket as he chases the all-time record.
Woods will be teeing off later in the afternoon on Friday after having one of the morning sessions on Thursday and he will look to get under 70 on Friday as the tournament moves into the second round. Lynn was excellent and followed up his second place performance at the PGA Championship last year, while 14-year-old qualifier Guan Tianlang had a rough start before making a birdie on the third hole.
Round two coverage will be on ESPN at 3pm and the gates will open at 8 am at Augusta before the coverage moves to CBS on the weekend. Nick Faldo said he thought Woods looked good on the course and Phil Mickelson also got off to a solid start while looking to win his fourth major, which would tie Tiger Woods. Defending champion Bubba Watson had a rough day, finishing three over with a 75.
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