The Masters Leaderboard 2011: Why Tiger Woods Played Well

Tiger Woods had teed up his ball 16 times in the Masters before his round today. 

In all of those rounds, Woods only managed to break 70 once. That occurred in 2010, when Woods shot a first-round 68 on his way to a fourth-place finish.

Today, Woods shot a one-under par 71. And although it is not any where near the blistering seven-under 65 that Rory McIlroy carded, Woods found himself happy with his round.

After how Woods has played until this point, he has no reason not to be.

"I'd rather be where Rory is," Woods said after his round.

And Woods could easily be closer to where McIlroy is, if only he found a way to make some putts.

Woods needed 71 shots to navigate Augusta National today. Of those 71, 30 strokes were made with the putter. 

When Woods made the turn, he was playing a bogey-free round. Then Woods bogeyed holes number 10 and 11, requiring a three putt on the 10th. 

Luckily, Woods was able to maintain some momentum by making a nice par saving putt at the 12th. He followed the 12th hole with birdies at holes 13 and 14 to get back under par. 

It was not like Woods' putter was awful today. The majority of his putters were close, and a few burnt the edges. 

If Woods wants to win this week, however, the putts need to start falling.

Historically, the second round has been Woods' day to move up the leader board and go low. Woods is more than capable of shooting 66 tomorrow; he just needs his putter to cooperate. 

"But, hey, there's a long way to go. We've got a long grind ahead of us. ... I'm very pleased. I'm right there in the ballgame. I'm only six back," Woods acknowledged.