Tiger Woods fights through the pain but can’t keep up with Hovland & Rahm as McIlroy has frustrating start to Masters

TIGER Woods was right. He does not have the game to compete with the current generation of golfing titans any more – at the Masters, or anywhere else.

That was painfully clear as the five-time Masters champion toiled to a scrappy first round 74, while playing partners Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele spent most of the opening day filling the top two spots on the leaderboard.

Tiger Woods struggled from the off on his way to a 74Getty

Even Woods felt the heat as his injury-ravaged body came under pressureRex

APWoods’ playing partner Viktor Hovland dazzled in his floral shirt as he topped the leaderboard on -7[/caption]

Anyone who has seen Woods in his pomp would have found it hard to watch the 47-year-old try to defy an injury-ravaged body, and do battle with two younger, stronger, and more confident players.

His two-over-par finish leaves him nine shots behind the joint leaders Hovland, Jon Rahm and LIV rebel Brooks Koepka.

Meanwhile Rory McIlroy’s goal of completing a career grand slam with victory here got off to a frustrating start as he carded a level-par 72.

The writing was on the wall for the Tiger-lovers as early as the second hole.

While his rivals smoked their drives down the fairway at the must-birdie par five, Woods tugged his tee shot into a bunker – and after laying up he fired his wedge shot thirty feet past the pin.

All that did was give Hovland the line, after hitting his second shot five feet closer to the flag.

He paid careful attention as Tiger’s birdie attempt tailed off at the last minute, and made no mistake with his eagle effort. 

That was the launch pad for a brilliant, bogey-free 65 that saw Hovland claim the early clubhouse lead, with Schauffele posting a highly satisfactory 68.

It also seemed to set the tone for a round where Hovland and Schauffle could do little wrong, and Woods could do little right. 

Maybe he was dazzled by the Norwegian player’s garish, floral shirt, which should have brought the fashion police racing to Augusta.

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A duffed chip on the third, after a terrific drive, saw Woods stumble to his first bogey. 

And a three-putt on the fifth hole was followed by a cruel lip-out at the seventh, which meant another two shots had been given up.

At three over par with almost two thirds of the round still to play, it was time to look away – unless you actually enjoy watching a great player brought to his knees.

But the thing about Woods is he does not when  – or how – to stay down – when things are going against him. 

He said on Tuesday that every shot is worth fighting for, and he proved it by plugging away to the very end.

But he admitted after the round that he was “in constant pain”.

The agony was etched on Woods’ face as he hit his second shot at the last from an awkward stance, with one leg outside a fairway bunker and the other one buried in the sand – a moment that worried fans.

After drilling his ball into another bunker to the right of the of the final green the 15-time Major champion spent several seconds hopping on his left leg.

He said that was to protect his right leg, which he admits was close to being amputated after it was mangled in his horrific road crash two years ago.

He said: “It’s a good job the weight was on my left leg. I’m good. Hopping on the left leg is fine. If I did it on the other one, not so fine. That leg is still pretty sore.”

Asked if the injury only flared up over certain shots, Woods replied: “No, it’s constant pain.” 

The highlight of his round came at the long eighth, where he almost holed a fifty yard chip with his third blow, leaving him with a kick-in birdie.

That shot was handed back on the eleventh, a hole that really highlighted the difference between Woods and the new generation.

The fighting qualities he has always been so proud of kicked in as Woods restored a large chunk of his battered pride with birdies at 15 and 16.

That allowed him to claw his way back to one over – only for his fourth bogey, at 18, to bring a sour end to the proceedings.

The narrative has already changed from Woods targeting a sixth green jacket, to trying to avoid a first missed cut at Augusta in 23 starts since joining the professional ranks.

It will be a big ask of a man who can see age and his battered body teaming up against him.

Meanwhile Rahm climbed from the depths of despair to the top of the leaderboard with a thrill-a-minute opening round at Augusta.

The world No 3 looked shell-shocked as he four-putted the first green to start the Masters with an ugly double bogey.

But Rahmbo played the remaining seven holes in NINE under par, to match Ryder Cup team-mate Hovland’s pace-setting 65.

Rahm’s score was the best in Masters history by anyone starting with a double bogey, and he said he refused to get rattled by that awful start.

Rahm said remembering the famous quote from Seve Ballesteros when he four-putted at Augusta helped him stay calm.

He added: “Seve just said: ‘I miss, I miss, I miss, I make’ That quote came to my mind as I walked to the second tee. if you think about it like that, it helps you to accept it and move on.”

But sadly Rory McIlroy was unable to join in the scoring spree.

Like Rahm he stumbled to an early double bogey, when he made a total hash of the seventh hole after hitting a wild drive into the trees down the left of the fairway.

Two birdies in the next three holes got him back to level par, and suggested McIlroy could also be on the charge.

But a bogey on 11 put the brakes on. And even though more birdies at 15 and 16 pushed him up to one under, McIlroy then dropped another shot at 17 – and a level par 72 means he has allowed a host of top players to steal a march on him.

At least he can claim a unique distinction at the Masters. He became the first player to be mic’d up and provide some on-course chat at Augusta, although plenty of social media users argued that was an unnecessary distraction.

EPAJon Rahm recovered from a terrible double bogey after four-putting the first to join Hovland at the top of the leaderboard[/caption]

APLIV rebel Brooks Koepka joined the Europeans on -7 to lead the Masters[/caption]

ReutersBut it was a frustrating day for Rory McIlroy who battled to an up-and-down 72 to shoot level-par[/caption]