Tiger Woods at Masters 2015: Leaderboard Score, Twitter Reaction from Friday
Tiger Woods continued to show positive signs in the second round of the Masters as he carded a three-under 69 Friday to put him at two under for the tournament. It leaves the 14-time major champion safely inside the cut line as afternoon play rolls on at Augusta National Golf Club.
Expectations for Woods were highly variable coming into the week. The condition of his game was unclear following a two-month absence due to back troubles after he struggled early in the season. He hasn't showcased peak form yet, but it appears he's moving firmly in the right direction.
Here's how his Friday went after he shot a one-over 73 in the opening round:
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 |
| Overall | E | E | E | E | E | +1 | E | -1 | -1 | - |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Overall | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | - |
While Woods improved his standing in Round 2, he still finds himself well behind leader Jordan Spieth. Here's a look at the current leaderboard:
Golf Channel had Woods' thoughts on his day:
Woods started his round perfectly. His shot off the first tee found the middle of the fairway, he hit his approach well and he converted a seven-foot putt for birdie. Given the difficulty of No. 1, it was a great sign that carried throughout most of the day.
Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek pointed out it ensured the 111th-ranked player in the world would remain on everybody's radar for another day despite Spieth's dominance:
He was unable to take advantage of the par five that followed. Instead he rattled off four straight pars. There were still some positive signs across that stretch, though, particularly at No. 4, where his previously shaky short game was tested again, with Tiger saving par.
He hasn't quite worked out his issues yet, however. Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker passed along word of a poor chip on the sixth that ended up leading to his first bogey of the day:
What he did over the next two holes is exactly what was missing earlier in the year. After the dropped shot, he responded with back-to-back birdies to right the ship.
Since a majority of Woods' round wasn't available on television, Shane Bacon of Dogs That Chase Cars was providing visual approximations of the holes. Here's his take on the four-time green jacket winner's birdie on No. 7:
After Woods nabbed another birdie on the eighth, Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel noted it was still Spieth who was stealing the spotlight:
"Back to back birdies for Tiger Woods but it's getting lost in the Jordan Spieth show.
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) April 10, 2015"
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman liked what he was seeing:
A couple of pars followed, but then Woods looked headed for certain disaster on the 11th. It was the type of hole that could have completely overshadowed his progress. Luckily, for at least one hole, he put his vintage shot-making skills on display.
His approach shot from amid the trees allowed him to get a mid-range look at birdie, and he dropped it. Golf.com highlighted exactly how far off line his tee shot was before the terrific recovery:
He jumped aboard the par train from there. It's not exactly what he was looking for, given the fact that he couldn't take advantage of a pair of par fives (13 and 15), but his play remained solid. He didn't compound his mistakes with another poor shot, which was a problem when he last played competitively.
Jay Posner of U-T San Diego highlighted Woods' fist pump after a par save on the 17th:
A 3-wood into the fairway and an approach that just flew over the bunker gave him a look for birdie to close the round. He couldn't convert, sliding it just by on the right side before tapping it in to end his round with seven consecutive pars.
120 Sports wrapped up the round:
Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout gave his stamp of approval:
Ultimately, Woods has made it clear over the years that winning is the most important thing. He doesn't show up to an event for the sole purpose of making progress. Bob Harig of ESPN highlighted how that stance didn't change ahead of this week despite the layoff.
"I still feel the same way," Woods said. "I want to win. The whole idea is to prepare and do that and I feel like my game is finally ready to go and do that again."
From that perspective it's highly unlikely the Masters will be a total success. Unless Spieth, and Charley Hoffman for that matter, struggles mightily and brings everybody else back into contention over the weekend, a fifth Masters title will have to wait.
That said, if Woods can continue to build off the first two days, he'll at least be able to leave Augusta on a positive note. Winning this week was always a long shot, but the outlook for the rest of the season is starting to become more promising.
He must play well Saturday and Sunday to keep those good vibes going.
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