AUGUSTA, Ga. — On a cool and sometimes blustery Friday at Augusta National, Tiger Woods was as unpredictable as the winds.
The five-time Masters champion, making his astounding return after a catastrophic car accident 14 months ago, was better off the tee but not as accurate with his putter as the day before.
Woods had bogeys on four of his first five holes, then chipped away at his rapidly climbing score with four birdies in a seven-hole stretch. He closed his round with four pars.
He’s at plus-one heading into the weekend, having salvaged his round after a shaky start. Although the round was not complete when Woods finished, it appears he will make the cut.
Not surprisingly, he was once again the star of the day, drawing the biggest gallery by far even as the world’s No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, assembled a masterful round. At the time Woods finished, Scheffler had a three-shot lead and was six under for the tournament through 14 holes.
Charl Schwartzel, who shot 69 and currently is in a logjam for second, said there was a distinct advantage to having an earlier tee time.
“It was tough,” Schwartzel said of the conditions. “I think we had a little fortune this morning. It was very cold, but we didn’t deal with a lot of wind for the first five or six holes. Started picking up around seven, eight, and then the back nine it was pretty much this. It got hard.”
Joaquin Niemann, playing alongside Woods, also was in a cluster of players tied for second at three under.
Also at three under, Sungjae Im, who began the day at minus-five. He shot a two-over-par 74.
Shane Lowry had a big day, starting with a bogey to go to two over par, then whittling away at that the rest of his round and finishing the afternoon at three under. He shot a 68 on a wickedly tricky day.
Collin Morikawa, who began the day at one over, finished one under.
“The wind is not playing making it easy,” he said. “It’s a lot of guessing, a lot of just trusting what you are going to do, but it’s weird. Yesterday I probably felt the most comfortable I’ve ever felt at Augusta National, which is, obviously, nice. Today just kind of kept fighting and posted a nice round.”
Among the big names who failed to make the cut were Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau.
