How Tiger Woods’ Masters Got Tougher Before Even Starting

If Tiger Woods believes he can still win the Masters at his age and all he has been through, then we should believe him. Because, you know, he's Tiger Woods.

That being said, he has his work cut out for him this week at Augusta National Golf Club where he's not only in search of his sixth win on the hallowed grounds, but he's also looking to set another record.

The quest for that record -- Woods is looking to make his 24th consecutive cut at the Masters -- became more difficult Wednesday night into Thursday morning because of the weather. Rain soaked the Augusta area overnight and into the wee hours of Thursday morning. Round 1 was supposed to start at 8 a.m. ET, but the tournament made the no-brainer decision to postpone the opening round back to 10:30 a.m.

Since all tee times were pushed back that 2 1/2 hours, Woods' grouping with Max Homa and Jason Day now will go off at 3:54 p.m. It's a little bit of bad luck in some regards. The earlier groups will benefit the most. Groups who will go out mid-morning not only will have a softer course to take aim at, but they also will be able to get in their 18 holes before day's end.

That's no guarantee for Woods and his group. If they can't get in their 18, then everything gets pushed back until Friday. That means Woods -- on a relatively broken-down body -- will be looking at playing a whole lot of golf in a short period ... just to get to the weekend.

Woods was a long shot to begin with, and now he has another hurdle to clear.

Tiger Woods at the Masters (via FanDuel Sportsbook)
To win: 150-1
Top 10: 9-1
Top 20: +330
To make the cut: -118
To miss the cut: -118

Woods hasn't really played at all this season, either. He teed it up at The Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour event he hosts, and he looked predictably rusty with a 1-over 72. That basically was the extent of his weekend, though. Woods withdrew midway through the second round, citing illness. He hasn't played a competitive round since then.

Woods, though, gains confidence from the fact that he might know the course better than any player who will make the trip down Magnolia Lane this week.

"You still have to go out and execute it, but there's a lot of knowledge that goes into understanding how to play it," Woods said at his press conference Tuesday. "And, granted, every tee box has been changed since the first time I played. Every green has been changed. But the overall configuration of how they roll and how they move and the angles you take, that hasn't changed.

"That's the neat thing about this. I can still go through the mental Rolodex and bring out a few putts from the '90s that still move generally in that direction and the effect Rae's Creek has on certain shots and putts. And it means a lot."

It's also probably no coincidence that Woods, 48, noted how you "see players that are in their 50s and 60s make cuts here, or it's players in their late 40s have runs at winning the event."

That still feels like a tall task for Woods, one that got even taller before tees even went into the ground. Even if he can't defy the odds, it's still a treat for golf fans to see him navigate his way around the property once again.

" … That's the neat thing about this golf course, and it's the only major we play on the same site, the same venue, each and every year, and we get to tell stories and catch up with friends and for me get a chance to catch up with idols and the people that I looked up to my entire life," Woods said.