Tiger Woods gets Masters challenge under way after rain delay

Tiger Woods got his Masters campaign under way with a welcome reminder of his most recent triumph at Augusta National.

A 30-minute delay due to bad weather meant Woods started his first round at 1104 local time (1604BST), coincidentally the same time he teed off on day one in 2019.

Woods went on to win his 15th major title, 3,954 days since he claimed his previous one when he beat Rocco Mediate in a play-off for the 2008 US Open, despite a double stress fracture and knee injury which prompted season-ending surgery.

Tiger Woods begins his 24th Masters with a par on the first. #themasters pic.twitter.com/gTva7ZznsP

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2022

The emotional victory came two years after he told Jack Nicklaus “I’m done” during the pre-tournament Champions Dinner, after which he flew straight to London to see the consultant who recommended he undergo what proved to be career-saving spinal fusion surgery.

This year, it was the severe leg injuries suffered in a car crash 13 months ago which had placed his Masters participation in serious jeopardy, but Woods had once again defied the odds to take his place in the field and insisted he believed he could win a sixth green jacket.

Speaking after performing his duties as honorary starter alongside Gary Player and Tom Watson, Nicklaus said: “Tiger I’m sure will be very competitive this week.

“I don’t know whether he can win or not. He hasn’t played any competition for a long time.

“When you haven’t played any competition for a long time you have a tendency to not be as sharp mentally, although I would never fault Tiger for his mental acumen because I think Tiger mentally is fantastic.”

Woods holed from 10 feet for par on the first after his approach had rolled back off