Woods makes bogey start to Masters second round, Schwartzel leads

AUGUSTA, Ga. :Tiger Woods followed his impressive start at the Masters with a bogey to open his second round at Augusta National on Friday while former champion Charl Schwartzel navigated windy conditions to grab the early clubhouse lead.

Woods, back in action this week after a February 2021 car accident that nearly cost him his right leg, sent his opening tee shot into a fairway bunker, hit his approach right of the green and then failed to get up and down from 26 yards.

The five-times Masters champion ended the first round four shots back of Im Sung-jae after a one-under par 71 that left him in a nine-way share of 10th place.

If Woods, 46, can pull off the unthinkable with a win this week he would become the oldest Masters champion by three weeks over 18-times major winner Jack Nicklaus, who collected his record sixth Green Jacket in 1986.

Schwartzel, who began the day five shots back of Im, mixed two bogeys with five birdies for a three-under-par 69 that left the 2011 Masters champion at three under on the week.

Im, who led Cameron Smith by one shot after the first round, was even par on the day until bogeys at the 10th, where his approach shot missed the green, and the par-three 12th where he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

But the South Korean responded with a tap-in birdie from two feet at the par-five 13th, and was one over on the day through 14 holes.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, former champion Danny Willett and Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who were all two shots off the lead after the first round, were either early into their second round or had yet to tee off.

Rory McIlroy, who this week is making his eighth consecutive attempt to complete the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors, carded one