Tiger Woods finished the first day of the Masters at 1-under par on the 13th hole, and bad weather forced a two-and-a-half-hour delay at Augusta on Thursday.
Woods will head out again at 8 a.m. local time on Friday morning to finish the final five holes before embarking on his second round.
Woods opened his 26th Masters with a birdie, drawing wild applause at Augusta and overall showing enough signs that he can compete this week.
But the weather delay is far from ideal for the 48-year-old and his crunchy frame, as he now faces playing 23 holes on Friday as the tournament schedule moves forward to stay on track.
Woods bogeyed the par-3 fourth after hitting his tee shot over the green, but rebounded on the par-5 eighth with a two-putt birdie.
Tiger Woods finished the first day of the Masters with a par under par on the 13th hole at Augusta.
It is Woods’ first appearance since withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational in February with flu-like symptoms, and his first major in a year.
Woods made the cut at last year’s Masters but withdrew before the end of the rain-interrupted third round, citing plantar fasciitis.
He underwent left ankle surgery that same month and has played very little competitive golf since.
The five-time Masters champion would break a record held by Gary Player and Fred Couples if he makes his 24th consecutive cut at Augusta this week.
The top 50 players tied after 36 holes, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead, will play over the weekend.
LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau maintained the clubhouse lead Thursday night at 7 under, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler. Danny Willett, the 2016 champion, was a surprise name tied for fourth alongside Homa at four under par.
DeChambeau had his lowest start in a major, a clinical performance of power and putting, always a good recipe at Augusta National.
“I try to be the best golfer I can be,” DeChambeau said. “I’m just in a place where I repeat a movement, trying to do the same thing over and over again.”
He had five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, including a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th when his risky shot under a pine tree cleared the water in front of the green and left him 40 feet away.
‘He cut down the tree. I got four pine needles right instead of five, and it worked perfectly,” DeChambeau said, not completely freed from his precise calculations.
Scheffler, meanwhile, shot a bogey-free 66, his first at Augusta, and looked with typically impressive touch.
“Any time you can get around this golf course without ghosts, you’re going to have a pretty good day,” he said.