Tiger Woods, having just finished his second round of golf just before 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, walked back to the clubhouse at Augusta National looking satisfied with his two days of work.
After sinking the putt at 18 for par — a hole he bogeyed at in the conclusion of round one — he removed his cap, smiled wide and hugged his caddie, seemingly content with the fact that he’d shot a 1-over 72, putting him at T-27 with seven other golfers at the time of his finish.
Comfortably above the cut line for an Augusta National record 24th straight time, Woods will be able to rest and recover before forging into the weekend with the same shot at a Green Jacket as the other 49 golfers who will join him.
Woods took a moment to reflect on what drew out that smile after concluding his second round.
“I’ve always loved playing here,” Woods said. “I’ve been able to play here since I was 19 years old. It’s one of the honors I don’t take lightly, being able to compete. The years I have missed, I wish I was able to play because there’s such an aura and mystique about playing this golf course that I don’t think that — unless you’ve played and competed here, you probably don’t really appreciate it.”
It was a long day for the 48-year old who was one of 27 golfers unable to finish their first round Thursday, due to a weather delay that got things off to a late start.
Woods came back to the course at 7:50 a.m. Friday morning and started out with a bogey on 14 set up by a subpar chip that just missed short of the green. He scrambled a bit to make par on 15 after a rough approach and then bogeyed the first round 18 to finish with an opening 73.
Woods only had less than an hour before having to tee off for second round play at 10:18 a.m. He carded an eagle at the 3rd before bogeying the 4th and 5th but got back to one over with a beautiful chip-in birdie at the 6th hole.
From there, he made par through the rest of the front nine and the first four holes of the back nine before bogeying again at 14. He made up for it with an eagle at 15 and shot par the rest of the way to card a one-over 72.
Meanwhile, Woods’ playing partner Max Homa has perhaps produced the shocker of the first two rounds of action.
Homa came into the Masters having just one top-10 finish in a major to his credit, and concluded his first two rounds battling Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler for the leaderboard’s top spot. Once Homa headed back to the clubhouse after his second round, he was solely in second place ahead of Scheffler while the 2022 Masters champion was still on the front nine.
As for Woods, he wasn’t much in the mood to bask in his accomplishment of 24 straight Masters cuts primarily because he’s still got his mind wrapped around a sixth Green Jacket.
“[Making the cut] means I have a chance going into the weekend,” Woods said. I’m here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament. I don’t know if they’re all going to finish today, but I’m done. I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I’ll be good to go.”
Woods is eight shots back from the leader, and though he feels the rigor of two days navigating the hilly course, Woods also says he feels good, physically and intangibly.
“Yeah, I’m tired. It’s been a long 23 holes, a long day,” he said. “But Lance and I really did some good fighting today, and we’ve got a chance.”
Woods also sounded off on his group mate Homa’s two-day progress, casting the 33-year old’s performance through two rounds in glowing terms.
“Well, he’s got all the talent in the world,” Woods said. “I got a chance to play with him at the Open Championship at St. Andrews, and his ball flight, as solid as he hits it, it’s just a matter of time before he starts winning in bunches.”
