The crowd at the Augusta National Golf Club welcomed Tiger Woods with a roar when he walked toward the 18th green. The noise was not as loud as it would have been on a Sunday. For good reason, it was close.
Woods had accomplished something that he thought was impossible.
In a car accident in Southern California in February of 2021, Woods had open bones in his legs, as well as damage to his foot and ankle bones. When a bone breaks into more than two fragments, it's called a comminuted break, and an open break. He was lucky to survive. He was in his home for three months. The idea of Woods playing in a major golf tournament was beside the point.
Woods was trying to save par and remain at the Masters at 1-under. He was four shots off the lead after shooting a 71, one-under par. Fourteen months after that life-threatening crash, and 509 days since his last round of official professional golf, Woods is very much in the mix. Woods will be spending the next 16 hours making friends with lots of ice.
He will start his second round on Friday at 1:41 p. The wind is supposed to pick up later in the afternoon.
Woods came to Augusta, where he has won five Green Jackets, not knowing if he would even play in the event. He decided to give it a go after a confident practice round. He is still walking with a limp, and he flashed an occasional grimace on Thursday. He dropped an F-bomb.
Woods says he can swing a golf club. It is difficult. My leg is going to be difficult for the rest of my life because of all the hard work. That is the way it is.
He fought through any impairments to record a round of golf. He got up and down from a bad lie on the first hole, saving par with a 10-foot putt, and setting the tone for the day. Woods tried to avoid problems. He missed six out of 14 fairways and nine out of 18 greens. No 46-year-old man coming off as many physical and mental wounds as Woods should finish a Masters round under par.
But he is Tiger Woods. A hole-in-one may have set off an earthquake, as Woods stuck his tee shot two feet from the hole on the sixth hole. Tiger was back. He was back to even after a bogey on the par-5 scoring hole, but then he missed a 25-foot eagle putt on the 13th hole. On the par 3 16th, Woods delivered in vintage fashion after a bogey on 14. He pumped his fist after he curled in a 29-foot putt.
The last time a full crowd lined the fairway at Augusta, many fans and pundits called it the greatest comeback story ever told. Woods won his first major championship in 11 years after a lot of surgeries and scandal. A victory this Sunday would surpass that one. His first-round finish was a sign of hope. A short, leftward tee shot on the par-4 18th left Woods in bogey territory. He stuck his wedge close to the hole, even though his approach was short. He ended his day by sinking a clutch, pressurized putt from 10 feet away to save par.
The crowd roared as if a player had just won a major. Fans yelled as Tiger left the green. One wondered how much louder Augusta would be if Woods won on Sunday. Five times? Ten times? What a sound that would be.
Sean Gregory is a writer for Time.
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