2024 Masters Tiger updates: Recap Thursday, Woods through No. 13 when Round 1 suspended

To follow the conclusion of Woods' Round 1 on Friday and his Round 2 action, click here.

You can't win the Masters on Thursday, but you can lose it, as the adage goes. Tiger Woods didn't lose it.

After heavy storms overnight delayed the Masters' start by two-and-a-half hours Thursday morning, Woods teed off at 3:54 p.m. ET and stood 1 under through 13 holes as play was suspended due to darkness, an encouraging start as he seeks his sixth green jacket – and a record 24th consecutive Masters made cut.

But Friday will be a different animal for Woods. The first round resumed at 7:50 a.m. ET, just over 12 hours from when play was suspended Thursday night. Woods will finish the final five holes of his first round, take a short break and then head out for his second round tee time at 10:18 ET. How will his body hold up with the short recovery time and 23 holes on Friday? That's the central question.

"The body is okay," Woods said Thursday night. "We've got some work to do yet tonight."

After undergoing ankle surgery following a WD during the third round of last year’s Masters, Woods returned to PGA TOUR competition at The Genesis Invitational in February, where he opened in 1-over 72 but withdrew during the second round due to flu-like symptoms. The Masters is Woods’ first start since withdrawing at The Genesis, and he said Tuesday that he still believes he can contend and win. That’s why he’s here, after all.

“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” said the five-time Masters winner on Tuesday.

His play so far validates that belief.

Woods started fast on Thursday with a birdie at the par-4 opening hole, his first Masters-opening birdie since 1999, and he remained steady as the conditions dried out in the afternoon. Woods, 48, made bogey at the par-3 fourth but responded with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 eighth, turning in 1-under 35. He made three straight crafty up-and-down pars on Nos. 10-12, then escaped the trees en route to par at the par-5 13th, his final hole of the day.

"The wind was all over the place," Woods said Thursday evening. "It was one of the most tricky days that I've ever been a part of. It was hard to get a beat not only on what direction it was going, but the intensity, and it kept switching all over the place, and then you had to – the timing was affecting putts on the greens. It was a very difficult day."

Woods entered the week on a streak of 23 consecutive made cuts at the Masters, sharing the all-time record with Fred Couples and Gary Player. He'll have a chance Friday to hold that record alone, but expected windy conditions (up to 34 mph) should offer a challenge for Woods and the field at large. Woods was tied for 17th, six back of leader Bryson DeChambeau, as play was halted for the evening. DeChambeau posted 7-under 65 earlier in the day, one clear of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler's 6-under 66.

Read below for a hole-by-hole look at Woods' opening round at Augusta National.

Hole 18 (par 4, 465 yards): Tiger has great rhythm with the driver, with another perfectly placed tee shot in the 18th fairway. It's a mighty encouraging sign as the first round finishes up and Woods readies for 18 more holes. It's a 287-yard drive. He has 171 yards into the closing par 4.

After Max Homa's approach got swallowed up by the wind and found the right greenside bunker, Woods plays a nearly identical shot. The wind impacted those shots much more than either player anticipated. Woods will need an up-and-down to finish even-par for the first round.

Nearly more short game magic for Woods! His bunker shot comes just inches from hitting the flagstick. Instead, it races by and Woods has more than he bargained for -- 16 feet for par. He gets the putt to the hole but doesn't play enough break. He closes with a bogey.

Woods finishes with an opening-round 73. That's a solid result given his lack of competitive reps, though Woods is surely disappointed after he was 1 under through 13 holes when play suspended Thursday night. He won't have much time to dwell on the finish. His second round tee time is scheduled for 10:18 a.m. ET. He has around 45 minutes to grab some food, keep the body loose and get ready for 18 more holes.

Woods shoots 1-over 73

Hole 17 (par 4, 440 yards): It's another low, fading bullet with the driver that finds the fairway. Woods is 3-for-3 in fairways hit this morning. That's a great sign. He's hit 77% of the fairways in this first round, slightly better than the field average.

With 158 yards into the green, Woods pulls 9-iron and plays the smart shot, leaving himself below the hole. He will have 23 feet for birdie. After a few shaky iron swings to start the morning, Woods has hit two solid ones with his tee shot on 16 and now this approach.

Woods leaves his birdie putt short. That's three putts left short in his opening four holes of the day. But it is another stress-free par. Those are always welcome at Augusta National, particularly on the 17th.

Woods even-par thru 17

Hole 16 (par 3, 170 yards): Woods pulls 7-iron after watching Jason Day put one in the water with the same club. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner doesn't make the same mistake. Woods safely lands it 20 feet past the pin and uses the slope to get it on the same plateau as the hole. He will have 20 feet for birdie.

It's a quick putt, meandering slightly left to right. Woods handles it with care but doesn't give it quite enough pace. That will be another par for Woods. He's 1-over since play resumed today but has made two relatively easy pars after that opening bogey.

Woods even-par thru 16

Hole 15 (par 5, 550 yards): Woods’ drive finds the fairway but it will be a lay-up with 273 yards remaining into the green. He does just that, leaving himself 70 yards. It's a tricky wedge shot on a severe downslope and Woods can't control the spin as the ball rolls off the back of the green. Woods' ball-striking has been iffy to start, but his touch is fully activated as he nearly holes the chip for birdie. He makes the comebacker for par.

It's a hole you'd like to make birdie, but Woods will take the par. He is clearly laboring this morning; the short turnaround time was likely going to be problematic. As the weather warms and Woods gets a few more swings, let's see how his body progresses.

Woods even-par thru 15

Hole 14 (par 4, 440 yards): Play resumed as scheduled at 7:50 a.m. ET. Woods plays his patented cut off the tee and finds the fairway. The 315-yard drive leaves him just 119 yards into the green, but Woods lays the sod over a wedge and comes up short of the green. That leaves Woods with a delicate chip, with the pin sitting on the top of a slope on the back of the green. Woods opts to hit a low spinner, but the ball releases out and Woods has 22 feet for par. The curling right-to-left putt come up just short. Woods makes bogey and drops a shot.

Woods even-par thru 14

Hole 13 (par 5, 545 yards): Woods plays a fade off the tee but overcooks it, as the ball sails into the collection of pine straw amidst a dense tree line right of the fairway. It means he can't go for the green, and he escapes the trees with a low punch shot that reaches the first cut just short of the fairway, leaving a 191-yard approach for his third shot.

Faced with a hanging lie and Rae's Creek closely guarding the green, Woods strikes a crisp iron shot that lands hole-high and stops on a dime, leaving a reasonable look from roughly 20 feet. The horn blows for darkness, allowing players to finish their current hole if they choose, as Woods walks to the green.

Woods opts to complete the hole; his right-to-left breaking birdie try pulls up a couple feet short. He makes his par to remain in red figures overnight. All in all, a promising start for the five-time Masters winner. It will be a marathon Friday as he eyes a record 24th consecutive made cut at Augusta National.

Woods 1-under thru 13

Hole 12 (par 3, 150 yards): As the twilight begins and the wind continues to gust, Woods pulls 7-iron and flies it over the green, a trend that has emerged with his mid-irons on this Thursday. The ball settles in the pine straw roughly 30 feet past the hole, but once again he displays a sublime short game with a softly played bump-and-run that trundles to 6 feet.

Woods drains the par putt, his third straight crafty par save as darkness approaches at Augusta National. He'll head to the par-5 13th tee.

Woods 1-under thru 12

Hole 11 (par 4, 520 yards): Woods has played this hole a cumulative 17 over across his career, but he has no such trouble on the tee shot Thursday, striping it down the fairway's left side as he begins Augusta National's famed Amen Corner. Faced with a lengthy second shot from 209 yards, he strikes it well with a long iron but the ball perhaps catches a gust of wind; it lands in the front fairway and settles some 80 feet short of the hole.

Woods' magnificent short game is on display once again, as he executes a high flop shot that lands softly and releases to tap-in range. He saves par, his second straight impressive up-and-down to begin the back nine. Darkness will approach soon; it appears he might only complete one more hole Thursday. Onward to the famed par-3 12th across Rae's Creek.

Woods 1-under thru 11

Hole 10 (par 4, 495 yards): Woods positions a fairway metal safely in the fairway's right side on the majestic downhill par 4, but he misses the green right with his second shot from 216 yards, leaving a slippery greenside bunker shot.

Ever a short-game magician, Woods has no troubles with his third shot from the bunker, playing a nifty splash shot that lands in the fairway cut and releases to leave a 4-foot uphill par putt. The patrons roar with deserving approval. He drains the par putt, dead center, to stay in red figures.

Woods 1-under thru 10

Hole 9 (par 4, 460 yards): Woods is finding a comfort zone off the tee, striping this drive 312 yards, perfectly positioned in the fairway's right side, leaving a good angle from 169 yards. He selects an 8-iron that tracks toward the hole, but the ball can't reach the back tier on which the hole is positioned; the ball lands on the ridge beween tiers and rolls back onto the green's middle tier, leaving a 33-foot birdie putt.

Woods' uphill birdie putt has solid pace but grinds to a halt 2 feet short. He cleans up his par to turn in 1-under 35, a promising start to the Masters. He stands T15 at the turn, six back of leader Bryson DeChambeau. He's two inside the current projected cut line of 1 over.

Woods' playing partner Max Homa turns in 3-under 32. Safe to say the group's vibes are high.

Woods 1-under thru 9

Hole 8 (par 5, 570 yards): Woods blisters driver down the right-center of the fairway, utilizing a high cut that puts him in position to reach the green in two. He does just that with a bold strike from 242 yards, the ball landing softly on the green's right collar to leave a 40-foot eagle putt.

Woods leaves his eagle try 5 feet short, but the birdie putt slides into the cup's right side. With his second birdie of the day, he's in red figures once again.

Woods 1-under thru 8

Hole 7 (par 4, 450 yards): Woods tugs a fairway metal just left of the fairway, the ball settling in the first cut but requiring a low punch to elude a dense grove of trees. He plays his 171-yard second shot accordingly, a low bullet that tracks toward the hole but can't clear a front greenside bunker.

Woods' bunker shot is a short-game master class, the ball landing some 10 feet short of the hole and releasing beautifully, leaving a 2-footer to save par. He has no trouble doing so.

Woods even-par thru 7

Hole 6 (par 3, 192 yards): Woods takes an aggressive line with a mid-iron; the ball tracks toward the hole's left side and lands roughly 15 feet short-right of the hole, but it catches the slope and feeds back onto the green's front portion, leaving a cross-country birdie try up a tier from 42 feet.

In what could be either a misread or a mis-hit, Woods' birdie putt misses short and right of the hole, leaving a knee-knocker for par. He has no trouble, though, draining the 5-footer for an adventurous two-putt par.

Woods even-par thru 6

Hole 5 (par 4, 495 yards): Woods pulls driver on the demanding par 4 and plays a feathery cut that splits the fairway's right-center portion. The five-time Masters winner hoists a mid-iron from 200 yards that lands softly on the green's proper level, offering a mid-range birdie try.

Woods' 16-foot birdie try has a good line but isn't struck hard enough, settling a couple feet short. He cleans up his par to remain level on the round.

Woods even-par thru 5

Hole 4 (par 3, 177 yards): Woods flushes an iron on Augusta National's first par 3; similar to his third shot on the par-5 second, the ball flies too far, settling in the second cut just beyond the green. He faces a slippery downhill chip, the green sloping away, and bumps the ball into the fringe on a line some 20 feet left of the hole; the ball releases onto the green and rolls well past, leaving a 25-foot par attempt from the front portion of the green's back section.

Woods' par putt is well judged, but the right-to-left bender just misses on the hole's right edge. He taps in for his first bogey of the week.

Woods even-par thru 4

Hole 3 (par 4, 350 yards): Woods settles in with the driver, playing a tight cut that eludes the short par 4's myriad fairway bunkers, the ball traveling 334 yards down the middle. From roughly 70 feet, he plays a bump-and-run second shot into the hill that releases just past the hole, leaving a 12-foot birdie try.

Woods can't convert the birdie, as he plays too much break on the left-to-right slider; the ball stays out on the left side. He taps in for a comfortable par, remaining in the Thursday red.

Woods 1-under thru 3

Hole 2 (par 5, 585 yards): Woods pulls driver but is unhappy with the swing immediately; he points to the left as the ball misses the fairway on the left side. The ball travels 319 yards, but it settles just inches from a tree's thick base, with 237 yards remaining to the hole. After some analysis and deliberation, he turns an iron upside-down and makes a left-handed swing, advancing the ball roughly 40 yards back into the fairway, enough to offer a clear angle for his third shot to the green.

Woods selects a 6-iron for his third shot from 190 yards; he stripes it but the ball flies too far, settling in the fairway cut beyond the green's back side. He plays a pitch-and-run with a mid-iron for his fourth, the ball not getting more than a few inches above surface level; it releases through the fringe and rolls to 5 feet. "Absolutely brilliant," said analyst Dottie Pepper. The slippery downhiller has some right-to-left movement, but he drips the par putt into the hole's left center with sublime pace. Crisis averted.

Woods 1-under thru 2

Hole 1 (par 4, 445 yards): Sporting a salmon shirt in his new Sun Day Red branding, Woods stripes a fairway metal with plenty of left-to-right movement, the ball starting down the left side but cutting back perfectly to the center of the fairway. He doesn't miss a beat on his second shot from 169 yards, striping a short iron to 8 feet. The patrons roar in approval.

Woods takes advantage of the early opportunity, as the right-to-left breaker curves into the center of the cup with perfect pace. Birdie to start. It's the first time since 1999 that he has carded birdie on his first hole of the Masters.

Woods 1-under thru 1