Tiger Woods returned to golf for the first time since his world fell apart after winning the 2009 Australian Masters at Kingston Heath Golf Club. Woods was warmly welcomed to the first tee as he was throughout his round which included two trademark eagles. His round of 4 under (his only sub 70 first round at Augusta) keeps Tiger two shots off the pace and still a chance at what would be a remarkable victory.
On a day where most of the hype surrounded Tiger, two veterans stole a piece of the limelight. They were Americans Fred Couples and Tom Watson. 50 year old Couples leads all comers with his 6 under round of 64 which could have easily been 63 if not for a squandered opportunity on the 18th green where the American missed a makeable birdie putt. Tom Watson, a 60 year old at this years Masters also impressed. He is tied for 2nd and one shot off the pace. This amazing effort comes after Watson's remarkable 2009 British Open where he lead for most of the tournament until succombing to compatriot Stewart Cink in a playoff.
Woods, Watson and Couples are only a sample of the big names which grace the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes. Korean, K.J. Choi who had the challenging task of being grouped with Woods upon his return is tied for second as are highly-rated Englishman Lee Westwood, American lefty Phil Mickelson and 2009 PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang.
Defending champion Angel Cabrera fired a dissappointing 1 over par round, a performance which will give the Argentinian plenty to do in the coming days if he his to have a say in this tournament come Sunday. Other notables who struggled include Australia's number 1 ranked player, Geoff Ogilvy, Irishman Padraig Harrington and young guns Rory McIlroy and Camilo Villegas.
Adam Scott was Australia's best and is in contention after a 3 under round which unfortunatley consisted of Scott's all too familiar putting woes. He will be looking to break Australia's long running 'hoodoo' at the Masters.
An intriguing first round has left a star-studded pack atop of the leaderboard and has given us a mouth-watering contest in the days to come.
Leaderboard
1 Fred Couples (-6)
T2 Lee Westwood (-5)
Phil Mickelson (-5)
K.J. Choi (-5)
Tom Watson (-5)
Y.E. Yang (-5)
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