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 | |  Thursday, 11 April, 2002, 14:50 GMT 15:50 UK Tigerwatch: Round One  Sand save: Woods gets out of a bunker at the first Hole-by-hole coverage of reigning champion Tiger Woods' first round at the Masters, which he finished with a two under par 70. A solid start for Woods as he begins the defence of his title but he has some moments of worry before he gets his par. In front of a large crowd at the first tee, Woods slices his opening tee shot into the trees and the ball bounces back into the rough. He then finds a bunker with his approach shot. His third shot out of the sand sees the ball roll 20 feet past the pin but he holes the tricky par putt. Woods is making a solid rather than spectacular start with another par at the second. But he is outshone by playing partners Dickerson and Izawa who both bag birdies. Level It takes Woods just three holes to get his first birdie of the day as he moves up the leaderboard on one under to put himself in a challenging position. One under
Woods is now starting to show that he means business yet again at Augusta getting a second birdie in a row. Two under Woods gets his third birdie in a row to move into a share of the lead alongside Scott Verplank. Three under The defending champion shows he is human, as his run of three straight birdies comes to an abrupt halt at the short sixth. A bogey four sees him drop back into the pack, leaving Verplank on his own at the top of the leaderboard. After a rollercoaster four holes, Woods steadies the ship with his first par since the second. A four at this tough 410-yarder, sees him consolidate his position in joint second, alongside Jose Maria Olazabal, Adam Scott and Tom Pernice. Woods will target this 570-yard par five hole as an opportunity to pick up shots. But he is unable to reach the green in two and punches his third onto the putting surface. He misses the birdie chance and holes out for a par five.
Another par, this time a four at the 460-yard ninth, sees Woods reach the turn in 34. He remains tied for second, but is now two shots behind leader Scott Verplank. Woods drops his second shot of the day. A bogey five at the 495-yard "Camellia" takes him back into a large group three shots off the lead. Woods is now in the middle of the "Amen Corner" section of the Augusta National course - a string of three holes that has broken many a Masters challenge. But he comes through White Dogwood unscathed, collecting a par four. The tricky "Golden Bell" par-three 12th looks like tripping up Woods when he hits his tee shot into the back of a bunker. But he blasts out of the sand to four feet and holes the putt for par.
A regulation five at the long 13th keeps Woods two shots behind the new leader, Jesper Parnevik of Sweden. One under Suddenly Woods' round is beginning to look ragged, as he slumps to his third bogey. A five at this 440-yarder takes him back to level-par and, having held a share of the lead at the fifth, he is now three shots adrift of joint front-runners Nick Price and David Toms. Woods is back on song with a birdie at the par five to leap up the leaderboard. He is now just three shots behind the leader Padraig Harrington. The defending champion fails to take advantage of a hole which has already been birdied ten times in the first round. His safe par three leaves Woods still on one under with just two holes to play. Woods putts his fifth birdie on the par four 17th to go to two under par and stay in touch with the top of the leaderboard. A timely birdie as Harrington extends his lead to two shots with his fifth birdie at the ninth hole. A low drawn tee shot into the woods to the left of the last hole put Woods in trouble from the outset. But a good recovery left him to hole a two foot putt for par and a first round of 70. Solid golf. | |  
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