Tiger Woods first round of the Masters golf tournament is officially in the books, and fans of the four-time champion should somewhat be pleased with his Thursday performance of 1-under par, 71, despite being six-shots behind clubhouse leader Rory McIlroy, who carded a seven-under par 65.
Woods, who was 1-under after the front nine, started the back-nine with two consecutive bogies and was 1-over through 11 holes. However, a birdie at No. 13 and a birdie at No. 15 put Woods back into red numbers. Woods pared the final four holes, including just missing a birdie putt on No. 18, to take positive vibes heading into Round 2.
No Woods supporter is jumping for joy or claiming he's back after his Round 1 performance, but the fact he salvaged to remaining under par despite some shaky tee shots and putting is a positive.
On Friday, Woods' tee time is schedule for 1:48 p.m. just over an hour before ESPN's coverage begins. If you'd like to catch Woods round sooner check out Masters.com, which has full coverage of Amen Corner and holes No. 15 and 16 starting at 10:45 p.m. (Click here for complete rundown of the Masters 2011 TV schedule.)
For more information on the Masters Golf Tournament 2011 check out SB Nation's golf blog Waggle Room; or SB Nation Atlanta's Masters Storystream; and SB Nation's pro golf hub.