Tiger Woods To Make Masters History With Gutsy Effort To Open Weekend

Tiger Woods might never win another major. At this point in his career, it would be surprising to see him win one of golf’s biggest tournaments, but he still found a way to make more history at the Masters this weekend.

The five-time Masters winner managed to rewrite another page of the record book, adding to his countless list of broken records. With an even-par 72 on Friday, Woods finished his first two rounds at 1-over, setting him up to make the cut and reach the weekend.

As of Friday at 4 p.m. ET when Woods’ group walked off the 18th tee, DataGolf.com was projecting the cutline to be either 4-over or 5-over, putting Woods comfortably inside the number.

Once the second round officially ends, it will mark the 24th straight cut Woods has made at Augusta National Golf Club, a new Masters record.

Woods’ achievement breaks a record he shared with good friend Fred Couples and three-time Masters champion Gary Player.

Despite the fact that Woods almost certainly won’t contend for his sixth green jacket this weekend, his ability to grind out two days of respectable golf on the biggest stage is impressive nonetheless. Woods spoke ahead of the tournament about the myriad of injury issues he deals with just to get ready. Cameras caught Woods, with a wrap on his back, applying some sort of pain cream to his hip area before teeing off Friday.

Woods also overcame a difficult draw because of the weather. He had a late tee time Thursday that got even later after Thursday rain soaked the course, leading to a two-hour delay. With the late start, Woods’ group only was able to finish 13 holes Thursday, meaning he had to play 23 on Friday, no small task given his physical issues.

The rust is evident. Woods hasn’t played a full competitive tournament (not counting the Hero World Challenge) since The Genesis Tournament last February. Going into this week, he had played just one competitive non-Hero round since last year’s Masters — where he withdrew due to injury midway through the third round. He hit the ball well off the tee, especially Friday where his 293-yard driving average was right in line with the rest of the field. His approach play, typically the best part of his game, was rusty; Woods was slightly below average on approach, but he made up for it with brilliant play around the green. After finishing up Friday, only two players — one of them Scottie Scheffler — gained more strokes around the green through two rounds.