Tiger Woods off to strong start at Masters - CBC.ca

The 84th Masters began in a surreal atmosphere as starters Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots in near darkness at Augusta National on Thursday before play was suspended because of lightning.

Nicklaus and Player emerged from the clubhouse at 6.57 a.m., the exact minute of sunrise, and strode to the tee before daylight had even punctuated the gloom in a light drizzle, as a drone buzzed nearby to film the occasion.

Despite this being a Masters like no other, without paying spectators due to novel coronavirus concerns, several hundred people surrounded the tee, mostly members and their guests.

Augusta chairman Fred Ridley introduced the players, and Player was first to hit. Swinging better than an 85-year-old has any right to do, he took a full backswing and struck the ball down the left side of the fairway.

WATCH | Tiger Woods nearly hits Round 1 hole-in-one:

Tiger Woods almost hit a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, part of his 4-under 68 first round at the Masters which had him tied for fifth place as play was suspended due to darkness. 0:51

Nicklaus, 80, followed suit with a swing slightly shorter than in his heyday that brought him 18 major championships. He too found the fairway.

"I was pleased it was dark because you didn't see where the ball went," Nicklaus said.

And with that the first Masters played in autumn was officially underway, though the first tee times were delayed by 10 minutes until 7.10 a.m.

However, less than 30 minutes of play was possible before competition was suspended due to lightning in the area, with only nine players having completed one hole.

Play did resume at Augusta National after a delay of nearly three hours because of rain and lightning in the area.

Only a handful of players managed to tee off for the opening round before an approaching storm prompted an evacuation of the course.

Tiger Woods is off to a strong start in defence of his Masters championship.

Starting on the back nine, Woods birdied both par-5s and added another on the par-3 16th to make the turn with a 3-under 33.

He made another birdie at No. 1, dropping his score to 4 under. He is two strokes behind leader Paul Casey in a storm-delayed opening round.

Woods has been a notoriously slow starter at Augusta National, even while winning five green jackets. He has broken 70 only once in the opening round, shooting 68 in 2010.

WATCH | Jon Rahm hits unbelievable hole-in-one:

Spain's Jon Rahm celebrated his 26th birthday by skipping a ball across the pond on the 16th hole and scoring a hole-in-one during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. 3:32

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2020-11-12 22:53:00Z
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