There are 27 players left without finishing the first round of the Masters due to lack of light. It must be said that the move has worked out perfectly for Augusta National. How incredibly well they have the course measured. They held out for two and a half hours without sending out the players to let the risk of an electrical storm pass and, even so, they are going to manage to finish on time and hour on Friday the second round. Perfect manoeuvre. Neither uncomfortable for the players nor the public and, on top of that, we set up a stellar weekend with a Saturday and a Sunday as God commands, without the need to set up rounds. Hats off.
The thing is that enough matches have finished of those that went out past noon to go out tomorrow at eight in the morning and for the day to be completed normally. The plan is as follows: at 7.50 the first round resumes and ten minutes later, from the 1st tee, the second round begins. So everyone stay calm because this Friday the game will be completed without problems, as the forecast of storm and rains has disappeared. However, the wind will continue to blow and will be a factor.
Of those who have not been able to finish their first round, the best is being Nicolai Hojgaard (-5). The Dane is moving at a brisk pace in his Masters debut. He has eaten up the par 5s. Four out of four birdies. And all of them practically given. If we add to this two chips holed from outside on holes 7 and 12, anyone would say that he has copied the classic route of Tiger Woods in Augusta. He has three holes left to finish. The record in a first day of a debutant is within his reach, but very difficult. He would have to finish with three birdies to tie the 64 strokes of Lloyd Mangrum and Mike Donald.
The next two in the standings with holes ahead are Max Homa (-4) and Tyrrell Hatton (-3), who have stayed on holes 14 and 15, respectively. However, the great prominence of the afternoon has been for Tiger Woods, who is one under par with five holes left. The genius of Cypress has once again moved and dazzled the fans. There were many doubts about his health and his golf. Both have passed the test with a very high grade. This Tiger has little to do with the one who played last year and had to retire before finishing.
A solid Woods has been seen, with a good pace of walking and hitting very good shots, especially from the tee. He has hardly missed fairways and has made very few mistakes. He has only made one bogey, on hole 4, and has achieved two birdies on holes 1 and 8. By the way, this is his twenty-sixth participation in the Masters and it is the third time he starts the tournament with a birdie. The other two were in 1999 and 2020.
Only the atmosphere that was on the 1st tee to see Tiger’s departure, makes almost all of the Masters worth it. He is the king of Augusta and he never tires of proving it. We will see what happens this Friday, whether he makes the cut or not, whether he gets up or not, but what he has left for the fans today is already a lot. Keep in mind that this Friday he will have to play 23 holes. How his body responds will be the key to his performance. For now, there are reasons to be excited, even if it is like the small mouth that we already know how this sport spends it.
