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Don’t look now, but Tiger Woods is on the prowl. Courtesy of an opening 1-under 71, the five-time Masters Champion and 15-time major winner is well positioned ahead of Friday’s windy second round. Surreal to even be typing, the 46-year-old proved once again he one never to be doubted.
It began with some pause as Woods’ first competitive shot in over 500 days was flared short and right. Later recovering and walking in his par-save from 10-feet, he was off and running as the early theatrics subsided for the next hour or so.
Arriving to the par-3 6th at even par, Woods flighted a 6-iron displaying he is in fact the greatest iron player of all-time (sorry Collin Morikawa). A kick-in birdie followed with another one appearing likely as he lied two from 50 yards on the par-5 8th.
His first bogey of the day was the result of a momentary loss of focus as he would eventually turn in even-par 36. A score most fans would have signed up for when they woke up, the way in which Woods carried himself gave way to thoughts of more.
Woods, as he so often does, delivered with two additional birdies on the second nine against just one bogey. Overcoming a quick left miss off-the-tee, he was able to summon a clutch short-game time and time again, connecting on 6 of 8 up-and-down opportunities in Round 1.
However, the work has just begun as Woods is only 25 percent of the way home. With one big question mark surrounding his stamina and endurance, his post-round treatment will arguably become just as important as his on-course performance.
When asked what this treatment will look like, Woods replied, “A lot. A lot. Lots of treatments. Lots of ice. Lots of ice baths. Just basically freezing myself to death. That’s just part of the deal. And getting all the swelling out as best as we possibly can and getting it mobile and warmed up, activated and explosive for the next day. Those are two totally different ends of the spectrum.”
Adding, “Most sports, if you’re not feeling very good, you got a teammate to pass it off to, and they can kind of shoulder the load. Or in football, one day a week. Here we’ve got four straight days, and there’s no one that’s going to shoulder the load besides me. I’ve got to figure out a way to do it. My team’s been incredible at getting me into this position so that I can compete. I’ll take it from there. I know how to play. I’ve just got to get out there where I can play.”
Starting the week at +8000 at PointsBet Sportsbook, Woods quickly got bet down to +4000 before the Masters Tournament began. Still at +4000, the mountain to climb remains just as tall as he trails Sungjae Im by four strokes with 54 holes to go.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+500: Cameron Smith
+650: Dustin Johnson
+700: Scottie Scheffler
+900: Sungjae Im
+1200: Patrick Cantlay
+1600: Joaquin Niemann
+2800: Corey Conners, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland
+3000: Will Zalatoris
+3300: Rory McIlroy
+4000: Collin Morikawa, Daniel Berger, Tiger Woods
+5000: Danny Willett, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau
+6600: Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Kokrak, Jordan Spieth
+7000: Tyrrell Hatton
+8000: Abraham Ancer, Shane Lowry, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele
+10000: Harold Varner III, Justin Thomas, Sergio Garcia, Tom Hoge
Round 2 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Tyrrell Hatton +7000 to win:
Our pre-tournament selections have fallen off the pace, but I do not mind their current positioning. Both off in the morning, they should receive a brief break from the winds as they are expected to intensify as the day progresses. Because of this, and the potential for an advantage in the early hours of Friday, Hatton is a player identified as someone willing and able to make a move up the leaderboard.
Signing for an even-par 72, the fiery Englishman, who rode a white-hot putter into Augusta, Georgia, disappointed on the greens. Losing north of three strokes with the flat stick, Hatton’s performance on the par-3 6th just about summed up his day. Four-putting for a double-bogey 5, Hatton bounced back playing his next 12 holes in a bogey-free fashion at 2-under.
First in SG: Tee-to-Green by way of second in SG: Off-the-Tee, fifth in SG: Approach, and 23rd in SG: Around-the-Green, conceivably Hatton will figure out these putting surfaces tomorrow. Hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation, the 30-year-old’s exquisite ball-striking should allow him to make a move towards the first page of the leaderboard.
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