Grading Tiger Woods' Round 1 Performance at the 2018 Masters

Tiger Woods' 2018 Masters got off to an entertaining start on Thursday, as he posted a score of 73 to finish one over par. 

The 14-time major champion struggled on the front nine after an early birdie, although a couple of bogeys saw him out in one-over.

Woods was slow to get going after the turn, too, and dropped another two shots around Amen Corner. The 42-year-old got back to two-over with a birdie at 14 and picked up another with an excellent putt at 16.

Tiger Battles to 73 on Thursday

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Woods' recent form has meant there has been plenty of focus on the four-time Masters winner ahead of Day 1 at Augusta. Yet, unsurprisingly for a man of his immense experience, there weren't many signs of early nerves.

Per Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel, there were plenty hoping to get a look at the golfing icon early on:

He made solid pars at the first two holes before taking out a driver at the short par-four third. Woods came close to driving the green before a routine chip left him with a putt for birdie.

As relayed by the tournament's official Twitter account, Woods rolled it in to get off to an excellent start:

That was the only time of the day when Woods was in the red, as he found sand on his approach to the fourth and overcooked the bunker shot. A long par putt was missed, pushing Woods back down to even.

A poor opening shot at the fifth left Woods in the sand again and while he recovered to get on the green with his second, a long putt was left. In the end, he needed three shots to get down and was one over for the tournament.

Over the next five holes, Woods steadied the ship, playing sensible golf and putting together a quintet of successive pars. At the first hole on Amen Corner, the 11th, he found trouble.

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Woods clattered his drive way right, and although he recovered well to give himself a chance of par, it slipped by. 

The next hole looked like it could be even worse, as his tee shot at the par-three 12th was wet. From there, he needed a long putt to make bogey, which Woods nailed. Per journalist Jason Sobel, it wasn't going well at this point:

Still, that clutch putt appeared to jolt Woods into life. After failing to take advantage on another par five at 13, a much-needed birdie came at 14 following a brilliant approach. 

Another par at the par-five 15th would've disappointed Woods, although he was able to produce something special at 16, nailing a brilliant putt after an approach to the middle of the green. He was back to one over and as noted by ESPN's Mike Greenberg, the veteran was battling despite not being at his best:

With two to go Woods would've been hoping to get back to level par, but he was nowhere near with a birdie try at 17.

After a perfect drive at 18, Woods slightly overcooked the second shot to leave a putt from the fringe for birdie. His effort eventually came up just short, as he signed off for a 73 that could've easily been a lot worse.

Round 1 Grade: C