Four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods was off to a good start during his first round at Augusta National on Thursday, as he was only one shot back of the lead at one under through four holes.
That was until he got to the recently-lengthened par-4 5th hole. The 14-time major winner sent his tee shot into one of the left fairway bunkers, which were moved during the renovation of the hole. It eventually led to Tiger racking up his first bogey of the 2019 Masters to fall back to even par on the day.
Ironically, Woods did not have kind words to say earlier this week about the new bunker placement at the 5th hole.
“I think [the bunkers] are unplayable to get the ball to the green,” Woods said when asked during his Tuesday press conference about the redesigned hole. “You have to be very lucky and get a situation that you might be able to get to the front edge of the green, but you need to stay out of those bunkers.”
The 5th hole now stretches to 490 yards, which is 40 yards longer than it was in 2018. Along with the new bunker placement, the hole features a new tee box as well.
It sure sounds like the golf gods were listening to what Tiger had to say. But he’s not alone in having had trouble at the 5th.
So far, a total of 19 bogeys have been scored one the hole. That’s the most at any hole thus far during Thursday’s first round of the Masters.
Through eight holes, Woods sits at even par and three shots back of the lead. Follow Thursday’s first round action with our live blog and leaderboard.
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