In the first round of The Masters, Tiger Woods reported being in “constant” agony, which put him in danger of missing the cut.
At Augusta National, Woods has won three of his 15 major championships, but after a poor start, the American icon might not stay for the weekend.
The 47-year-old shot a two-over 74 in Georgia following his fifth bogey of the day at the 18th hole, where Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka took the lead at seven under after taking advantage of favourable conditions.
Woods defied the odds to resume his career after suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident two years ago.
One of the all-time great revealed he felt “sore” and was troubled throughout his opening round of the first major of 2023 on Thursday.
A first round 74 for the five-time champion. #themasters pic.twitter.com/U9CFryDNIS
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2023
Reflecting on his round, he said: “Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it.
“Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper and kind of inch my way through it.
“This is going to be an interesting finish to the tournament with the weather coming in. If I can just kind of hang in there, maybe kind of inch my way back, hopefully it will be positive towards the end.”
Cameron Young and Jason Day were two shots behind the leading trio, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler was three under through 14 holes.
Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott and amateur Sam Bennett are among a host of players well poised on four under, while Rory McIlroy has work to do at one over through 14.