Koepka in lead, Woods unable to find rhythm
AUGUSTA, April 7
LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka used a closing birdie to move into a three-way share of the Masters clubhouse lead with Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland on Thursday while defending champion Scottie Scheffler lurked three shots back.
Koepka, one of the 17 LIV Golf players left in the field after Kevin Na withdrew midway through his round, shot a sparkling 7-under 65 in ideal scoring conditions at humid Augusta National to join Spaniard Rahm and Norway’s Hovland in the lead.
“There’s only really a couple things I care about, is going to work out and going to play golf and that’s it when we’re here, and nothing else really matters,” Koepka told reporters. “It’s full focus on this and trying to walk out of here with a Green Jacket.”
The only blemish on the scorecard for the four-time Major champion, who won last week’s LIV Golf event in Orlando, came at the par-five 13th hole where he carded a bogey after an errant tee shot forced him to take an unplayable lie.
But Koepka, finally looking comfortable after a knee injury that took a toll on his body, responded with birdies at the 15th and 17th before draining an eight-foot birdie putt at the last.
Jason Day and Cameron Young were two shots off the lead while pre-tournament favourite Scheffler, world No. 7 Xander Schauffele and Major champions Shane Lowry, Adam Scott and Gary Woodland were among those a further shot back.
Shaky start for Woods
Tiger Woods split the fairway with his opening shot, confidently plucking his tee from the ground before his ball had even landed, and set off with grim-faced determination for a steamy trek around Augusta National. The rest of his day at the Masters was mostly just grim.
There were two wicked lip-outs on the front side. A pitch shot dumped in a greenside bunker on the back. Some bad luck off the tee at 18, which left him with a painfully awkward stance. And on just about every hole, a pronounced limp — the evidence of the crash on a suburban Los Angeles road just over two years ago that crushed bones in his right leg and ankle.
By the time Woods struggled through the finishing hole, failing to get up and down from another bunker, he had shot a 74 — good enough to stay in contention to play the weekend but hardly good enough to actually contend with a 2-over 74. He has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional.
“Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it,” Woods said. “Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper, and kind of inch my way through it.” — Agencies
