Masters Live: Tiger Woods' Displeasure with Performance Is a Good Sign

Tiger Woods was lucky to finish Round 1 at the Masters at even par on Thursday, after failing to play to the level he knows he can perform at.

Woods wasn't impressed with his performance, but was happy that the round didn't get away from him.

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"Today I squeezed a lot out of that round," Woods said at his post-round press conference. "Didn't hit it very good at all. Warmed up bad, too, and it continued on the golf course. I just felt my way around today. I really grinded, stayed very present. And you know, I know how to play this golf course. I think it's just understanding what I need to do."

"I made some bad swings. That's fine. My commitment to each and every shot, what I was doing, my alignment, my setup, everything was something that I'm excited about and I can take some positives going into tomorrow about that. Granted, it might be late tomorrow, but at least I have something to build on."

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After an OK front nine in which he was one under par after the first nine holes, Woods finished his round with two bogeys on holes 17 and 18. It was a disappointing finish but he is not too far off the leaders.

The Augusta National course has been really tough throughout the tournament thus far, with some of the pin locations creating a lot of challenges for even the most talented golfers.

Woods, unlike a number of golfers in the tournament, has a ton of experience at this course, which will certainly help him throughout the week. He knows the challenges each hole presents and won't be intimidated by the difficulty of the course. 

Tiger played one of his weaker rounds in weeks, yet he's still at even par and not far off the lead. No one has distanced themselves from the pack yet.

Woods' displeasure with his first-round performance is a good sign for him going forward. He knows that winning his fifth green jacket won't be easy, but he's willing to work on his game and improve before Friday's second round.

Shortly after he finished up on Thursday, he was seen heading over to the driving range for some practice.

Tiger didn't play close to his potential on Thursday, but there's no reason to believe that his game will continue to be below average for much longer.

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