Orlando, FL …
Eight-time former Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Tiger Woods walked off with a four-under par 68 to learn he has been installed as favourite early next month to capture a fifth Masters green jacket.
After a 12th hole double-bogey, Woods birdied three of his closing six holes, and including holing a monster 71-foot birdie putt at his 16th hole and muscle his way for a then clubhouse share of second place.
Tiger Woods was ‘F-bombing’ after a mid-round double-bogey before muscling his way to a share of second on day one of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.
Woods, and a eight-time former winner was in the lead on five-under par in sending his tee shot way right at the par-4 third hole that he was playing as his 12th on the Bay Hill course.
Woods walked up to his ball to find it had landed less than a foot outside of a hessian fence and acting also as out-of-bounds.
The 14-time Major winner sought a ruling but was far from delighted in being advised his ball was out-of-bounds.
“If the net was facing the other way, and with the flap at the bottom facing the course, then probably my ball would not have gone under the net,” he said.
“It was not that I didn’t agree with the ruling as my ball out, out by about three to four inches.
“And whether or not the fence should have been facing the other way, well I was not in the mood to ask.”
Woods then sent his third shot again way right but in-bounds on route to his ‘6’.
But this re-energised and re-born 14-time Major winner was not about to go away holing two-putting for birdie at the next and then also birding his 15th before Woods dramatically holed a 71-footer birdie shot for the sixth birdie of his round at the par-3 seventh of the 16th of his day.
“It was very pleasing to come back with a birdie on the next and to pull off that pitch shot to three-feet at six was nice as Jason (Day) and I both had mud balls on six.
“But to pull off that bomb there at seven was great and felt really good as after dropping two shots on three, the last thing I wanted to do was to take bogey there as if the putt didn’t hit the hole it was going eight feet by.”
Woods effort is the ninth occasion in 17 Bay Hill tournaments he’s broken par on day one including both 2012 and 2013 when he won a seventh and eighth title, and also with 2013 the last time he’s played ‘Arnie’s’ event.
And then after his round he was informed he has been made favourite by Las Vegas bookmakers to win a fifth Augusta green jacket when the Masters commences on 5th April.
Woods was asked about his Augusta favouritism and responded smiling: “A lot of gambleholics out there”.
Here are the odds:
T Woods 8/1 D Johnson 9/1 J Thomas 9/1 J Spieth 12/1 J Day 14/1 J Rahm 14/1 R McIlroy 16/1 J Rose 16/1 P Mickelson 16/1 R Fowler 18/1 B Watson 25/1 P Casey 25/1 S Garcia 25/1
Texan Jimmy Walker was the early clubhouse leader in posting a five-under par 67.
