Woods Feels Better Than His 75 Would Indicate

One day after being anointed by Jack Nicklaus as the next royalty at the Masters, Tiger Woods shot 75 in the opening round and actually felt pretty good about it.

Woods three-putted three times but finished with a birdie at the 405-yard 18th hole. He had only 78 yards to the front of the green after his drive and wound up curling in an 18-foot putt.

Still, a round of three over par isn’t exactly like slipping on a green jacket as Masters champion, which is what Nicklaus said Woods would do many times in his career.

“That’s a nice compliment,” Woods said.

There is room for jackets in Woods’ closet. Right now, he has one, a blue blazer.

Woods hit the ball a long way off the tee, but he had some problems getting the ball into the hole. He wasn’t upset, though.

“I thought I hit some good shots out there,” he said. “I just didn’t putt that well. Overall, it was a pretty good round. The score just doesn’t show it.”

Typical of Woods’ problems was what happened on the longest hole on the course, the 555-yard second. Woods had 221 yards to the hole after his drive and hit a four-iron over the green.

He mis-hit one chip, chipped again, then two-putted for bogey where he should have been in good position for a birdie.

Woods, 20, the two-time defending U.S. Amateur champion, is playing in his second Masters. Last year, he began with a 72 and wound up tied for 41st.

“Overall, I did better than last year, even if you can’t tell by my score.”

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Ben Crenshaw, the defending champion, played with Woods and shot a five-over-par 77 that included a 41 on the front.

“It was my turn to bleed today,” Crenshaw said.

Tom Watson’s turn came on the par-three 16th when he five-putted for a triple-bogey six on his way to a 75.

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Peter Jacobsen withdrew because of pulled muscles in his side.

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There are four par-five holes at Augusta National, and Jack Nicklaus said he didn’t do enough with them.

“It was not a hard day to play golf, and I didn’t take advantage of the par-fives,” he said. “I can play better than I did today. I don’t know if I will.”

Nicklaus shot a two-under 70, but he birdied one of the par fives and made par on the other three.

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After he birdied No. 13 to get back to par, Arnold Palmer bogeyed two of the last three holes and shot 74.

“Am I pleased?” Palmer said. “Well, I was walking down No. 15 and thinking about staying at par or better, that would have pleased me. I’m not as pleased with a 74.

“But I’ve done a lot worse things.”

Palmer, 66, said his goal is to make the cut, which he hasn’t done since 1983.

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How far is far? John Daly hit his drive on the 555-yard second hole a mere 414 yards.

Daly, who shot a 71, was paired with Nick Faldo and playing behind Woods and Crenshaw. Daly’s ball carried to the top of the mound in the fairway and rolled down the slope about 100 yards and through the crossing path.