2024 Masters Tiger updates: Woods on back nine Friday, chasing cut line history

Friday will tell us a lot about the state of Tiger Woods.

The five-time Masters winner stood 1-under through 13 holes when play was suspended due to darkness Thursday night. Step one, done.

Step two will be much more difficult. Woods, who had played just 24 holes of PGA TOUR competition entering this week, is tasked with completing 23 holes on Friday — the final five of his first round and his full 18-hole second round.

Opening round play resumed at 7:50 a.m. ET Friday, just over 12 hours after it was suspended Thursday night. How will Woods’ body hold up with the short recovery time? That’s the million-dollar question.

“The body is okay,” Woods said Thursday evening. “We’ve got some work to do yet tonight.”

After undergoing ankle surgery following a WD during the third round of last year’s Masters, Woods returned to PGA TOUR competition at The Genesis Invitational in February, where he opened in 1-over 72 but withdrew during the second round due to flu-like symptoms. The Masters is Woods’ first start since withdrawing at The Genesis, and he said Tuesday that he still believes he can contend and win. That’s why he’s here, after all.

“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” said the five-time Masters winner on Tuesday.

Count the weather as one thing against Woods. A two-and-a-half-hour rain delay on Thursday forced him to return early Friday morning to complete his first round; his already tight recovery timeline sped up even more. It looked that way in the opening holes with some good and bad swings mixed in. He walked well at times; he walked gingerly at times. His physical progression throughout Friday will be important.

Woods entered the week on a streak of 23 consecutive made cuts at the Masters, sharing the all-time record with Fred Couples and Gary Player. He’ll have a chance Friday to hold that record alone, but expected windy conditions (up to 34 mph) should offer a challenge for Woods and the field at large.

Read below for a hole-by-hole look at Woods’ Friday at Augusta National.

Hole 14 (par 4, 440 yards): After five straight pars, Woods makes a disappointing bogey at the mid-length par 4 despite a perfectly positioned drive.

From the center of the fairway, Woods tugs his 150-yard approach left of the green, leaving an awkward chip shot from the pine straw. His bump-and-run third shot checks up 9 feet short; his par putt starts right of the hole and stays there.

Woods falls to 2 over for the week, still two strokes clear of the projected cut line but with a little less wiggle room. Now he heads to the risk-reward par-5 15th, which can offer red numbers but also saw Jordan Spieth make a 9 in the opening round.

Woods 1-over through 14, 2-over overall

Hole 13 (par 5, 545 yards): One of golf’s greatest holes, the sweeping dogleg-left par 5, and Woods makes a conventional par to remain safely inside the projected cut line.

Woods’ tee shot misses just right of the fairway, making for an easy layup decision; he executes a low punch from 294 yards with an abbreviated follow-through to leave an 130-yard wedge approach. Facing a diabolical hole location tucked on the green’s back tier, Woods safely plays to the middle part of the green. He two-putts for par from 55 feet, demonstrating his innate understanding of Augusta National once again. No harm, no foul.

Woods even-par though 13, 1-over overall

Hole 12 (par 3, 155 yards): Perhaps the golf gods are rooting for Woods to set the Masters’ consecutive made cuts record as well. His tee shot sails past the green at the short par 3 over Rae’s Creek, but the ball kicks backwards from the pine straw to leave a simple pitch shot across the green. Woods, a short-game magician, has no such trouble with this straightforward task; he plays a 12-yard bump-and-run to 3 feet and cleans up his par.

With the projected cut line moving to 4 over, Woods now has three strokes of cushion as he eyes history.

Woods even-par through 12, 1-over overall

Hole 11 (par 4, 520 yards): Woods has no trouble finding the fairway off the tee, but the hole is playing into the wind, almost as a par 4.5 for the field. Faced with 236 yards for his second shot, Woods employs a safety-first mentality, playing to an area of fairway short-right of the green, 26 yards from the hole.

Once again, Woods displays some short-game acrobatics, playing a bump-and-run third that flirts with the greenside bunker’s edge but releases safely onto the green, leaving a 6-foot par putt. Once again he solves an Augusta National riddle with aplomb.

Should we be amazed? Perhaps. But this is Tiger Woods, and the patrons rise in appreciation as he walks to the famed par-3 12th across Rae’s Creek.

Woods even-par through 11, 1-over overall

Hole 10 (par 4, 495 yards): After a perfect drive down the middle, Woods plays a conservative 186-yard second shot to the green’s left side, leaving a slippery birdie putt from 44 feet. The putt tracks toward the hole but slides 6 feet past, leaving a crucial par-saving attempt to maintain the momentum that has built in recent holes.

Woods doesn’t miss a beat, rolling his par putt into the center of the cup. He retrieves the ball from the hole with authority, remaining two strokes inside the projected cut line as he heads to Amen Corner.

Woods even-par through 10, 1-over overall

Hole 9 (par 4, 460 yards): Woods picked up his tee and didn’t look worried as his drive reached the apex. The wind had other ideas, hollowing off the right and pushing Woods’ tee shot into the trees on the left. That will be a difficult angle to reach that green and might just be a lay-up.

Woods rehearses a big hook shot and does hit it through trees. It never had a chance to reach the green, though, and goes flying into the patrons greenside.

More creativity from Tiger, who takes it way up high with his pitch and lands it 11 feet from the hole, then drips it in for par. That’s a fantastic save and the type of putt he hasn’t made today. It’s a great sign as he makes the turn, well within the projected cut line.

Woods even-par through 9, 1-over overall

Hole 8 (par 5, 570 yards): Max Homa goes way right. Jason Day goes way left. Tiger Woods pumps one right down the middle. Once again playing as one of the easiest holes, Woods is firmly in position to make a birdie after that tee shot.

From 294 yards out, Woods decides to lay-up. The eighth was playing downwind yesterday, but that’s not the case today. Woods is left with 64 yards from the middle of the fairway after his second shot.

He’s played this hole a few times, eh? Woods perfectly clips a wedge that hops and stops pin-high, 4 feet from the hole. Woods finishes that up for his second birdie of the day. With a tough stretch of No. 9-12 upcoming, that’s some needed breathing room. The cut line is still trending toward 3- or 4-over.

Woods even-par through 8, 1-over overall

Hole 7 (par 4, 450 yards): It’s imperative to find the fairway on the narrow par-4 seventh. Woods pulls 3-wood, tees it down and hits a cut that splits the middle. His day has been filled with inconsistencies, but his driving has not been one of them. Including the five holes of his first round he played this morning, Woods has hit 7-of-8 fairways.

Woods stares down his approach from 156 yards, but is exasperated as it lands in the front bunker. Woods looked like he liked the strike, so he must have misjudged the wind. Now Woods is back in scrambling mode. The seventh hole is playing as the second-hardest hole in Round 2.

Woods opts to go low with the bunker shot as it skids and stops 7 feet past the hole. That sets up another tester… and another miss. Woods’ putt lips out and that is his third bogey in four holes. The mistake there came on the approach shot. Woods had a chance to make the difficult seventh a birdie hole. Instead, a poor approach means Woods drops another shot.

Woods 1-over through 7, 2-over overall

Hole 6 (par 3, 180 yards): Winds continue to gust as Woods backs off his tee shot to let the winds subside, then hits a low bullet that barely clears the front bunker.

With the option to putt or chip, Woods pulls wedge and it was a great idea! Woods plays a short little runner from 9 yards away that curls right into the cup! Woods needed that and gives a hearty wave to crowd as he grabs the ball from the bottom of the cup.

With the chip-in, Woods plays Nos. 4-6 in 1-over. In these conditions, that’s solid. Let’s see if Woods can ride that momentum and make the turn in red figures.

Woods even-par through 6, 1-over overall

Hole 5 (par 4, 495 yards): This is a hole that has had Woods’ number and it’s giving him fits again. Woods misses his first fairway of the day and it’s a costly one. His drive leaks left and finds the massive fairway bunkers. He’s forced to lay up, which gives him 119 yards to the hole. Woods plays the smart shot, knowing he absolutely can’t go long of the green. He leaves himself around 20 feet for par.

But it will be another dropped shot. Woods hits a good putt that doesn’t fall. Now 2-over for the tournament, the cut line is starting to become a discussion. There are 54 players at 2-over or better. With conditions getting more difficult, expect the cut to get to 3- or 4-over.

Woods 1-over through 5, 2-over overall

Hole 4 (par 3, 240 yards): Historically one of the toughest holes on the property, the fourth is playing even more difficult today with the wind likely adding 20-25 yards to the shot. Woods attempts to cut one into the middle of the green but leaves it out to the left and just misses a greenside bunker.

If there was a place to miss on this hole today, it’s where Woods is. His pitch is solid but rolls out 5 feet past the hole, leaving a very delicate putt. The best leave is definitely short of this pin location. Woods is forced to make a very defensive putt, starting the ball outside the hole. It just didn’t come back. That’s a bogey for Woods.

Woods even-par through 4, 1-over overall.

Hole 3 (par 4, 350 yards): Another fairway hit for Woods, though it needed a bounce of some Georgia pines to make it there. Woods’ driver leaked a little right but the good kick leaves him 87 yards from the hole. It’s a challenging pin position today on the front-right portion of the green.

That unlocks the artistry in Woods’ game, who pulls pitching wedge from less than 90 yards and hits a knockdown shot that lands 10 feet past the hole and stops. Great spin control gives Woods another great look at birdie, his third straight.

Woods stands over the putt then backs off. It’s getting mighty windy out there and Woods’ Sun Day Red pants are flapping as the gusts cut through Augusta National. Back over the ball again, Woods makes a confident stroke that drops in from the low side. Woods is on the board with his first birdie of the day.

Woods 1-under through 3, even-par overall

Hole 2 (par 5, 585 yards): Woods opts for 3-wood today and finds the fairway. If you recall, Woods went way left with his tee shot on this hole yesterday using driver. But with the hole playing downwind today, he can get to the green in two without driver.

From 267 yards away, Woods ropes a wood over the right side of the green and into the patrons. With the hole location on the far left side of the green, he’s got plenty of room to operate, but he’s still 43 yards away.

Barely visible among the throng of patrons, Woods’ pitch skips and stops 11 feet from the hole. Woods has the line but his putt stops less than an inch from the hole. That’s another par. Two good looks for birdie on the opening two holes. Now it’s just time for the putter to cooperate.

Woods even-par thru 2, 1-over overall

Hole 1 (par 4, 445 yards): New round, same driver. Woods has hit every fairway today, including on the first hole of his second round. Along the left side of the fairway, Woods has an ideal angle from 161 yards out and hits in pin-high, about 15 feet from the hole. After two bogeys and three pars to close his first round this morning, Woods has a chance to get his second round off to a great start.

Woods gives it a good run but misses it on the high side. No complaining about a par at No. 1, now with a chance to get a birdie at the par-5 second.

Woods even-par thru 1, 1-over overall

Editor’s note: Catch up on complete hole-by-hole details of Tiger Woods’ first round from Augusta National

here.

Hole 18 (par 4, 465 yards): Tiger has great rhythm with the driver, with another perfectly placed tee shot in the 18th fairway. It’s a mighty encouraging sign as the first round finishes up and Woods readies for 18 more holes. It’s a 287-yard drive. He has 171 yards into the closing par 4.

After Max Homa’s approach got swallowed up by the wind and found the right greenside bunker, Woods plays a nearly identical shot. The wind impacted those shots much more than either player anticipated. Woods will need an up-and-down to finish even-par for the first round.

Nearly more short game magic for Woods! His bunker shot comes just inches from hitting the flagstick. Instead, it races by and Woods has more than he bargained for — 16 feet for par. He gets the putt to the hole but doesn’t play enough break. He closes with a bogey.

Woods finishes with an opening-round 73. That’s a solid result given his lack of competitive reps, though Woods is surely disappointed after he was 1 under through 13 holes when play suspended Thursday night. He won’t have much time to dwell on the finish. His second round tee time is scheduled for 10:18 a.m. ET. He has around 45 minutes to grab some food, keep the body loose and get ready for 18 more holes.

Hole 17 (par 4, 440 yards): It’s another low, fading bullet with the driver that finds the fairway. Woods is 3-for-3 in fairways hit this morning. That’s a great sign. He’s hit 77% of the fairways in this first round, slightly better than the field average.

With 158 yards into the green, Woods pulls 9-iron and plays the smart shot, leaving himself below the hole. He will have 23 feet for birdie. After a few shaky iron swings to start the morning, Woods has hit two solid ones with his tee shot on 16 and now this approach.

Woods leaves his birdie putt short. That’s three putts left short in his opening four holes of the day. But it is another stress-free par. Those are always welcome at Augusta National, particularly on the 17th.

Hole 16 (par 3, 170 yards): Woods pulls 7-iron after watching Jason Day put one in the water with the same club. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner doesn’t make the same mistake. Woods safely lands it 20 feet past the pin and uses the slope to get it on the same plateau as the hole. He will have 20 feet for birdie.

It’s a quick putt, meandering slightly left to right. Woods handles it with care but doesn’t give it quite enough pace. That will be another par for Woods. He’s 1-over since play resumed today but has made two relatively easy pars after that opening bogey.

Hole 15 (par 5, 550 yards): Woods’ drive finds the fairway but it will be a lay-up with 273 yards remaining into the green. He does just that, leaving himself 70 yards. It’s a tricky wedge shot on a severe downslope and Woods can’t control the spin as the ball rolls off the back of the green. Woods’ ball-striking has been iffy to start, but his touch is fully activated as he nearly holes the chip for birdie. He makes the comebacker for par.

It’s a hole you’d like to make birdie, but Woods will take the par. He is clearly laboring this morning; the short turnaround time was likely going to be problematic. As the weather warms and Woods gets a few more swings, let’s see how his body progresses.

Hole 14 (par 4, 440 yards): Play resumed as scheduled at 7:50 a.m. ET. Woods plays his patented cut off the tee and finds the fairway. The 315-yard drive leaves him just 119 yards into the green, but Woods lays the sod over a wedge and comes up short of the green. That leaves Woods with a delicate chip, with the pin sitting on the top of a slope on the back of the green. Woods opts to hit a low spinner, but the ball releases out and Woods has 22 feet for par. The curling right-to-left putt come up just short. Woods makes bogey and drops a shot.

Recap the rest of his first round at the Masters here.