Tiger Out of the Woods With a 30 on Back Nine

Tiger Woods ran a reverse Thursday, shrugging off a miserable 40 on the front nine before turning the tables with a six-under-par 30 on the back to get back into contention in the first round of the Masters.

He came within one shot of the record back-nine score at Augusta National, set by Mark Calcavecchia in 1992. Woods, 21, is three shots behind leader John Huston.

“I was pretty hot over the way I was playing,” Woods said of his front nine. “Augusta’s fairways are pretty big, and I wasn’t able to hit them.”

Woods sank a 15-foot putt for birdie at the 10th, chipped in for birdie at the par-three 12th, birdied the 13th, eagled the 500-yard, par-five 15th after hitting a 151-yard wedge to four feet, and then birdied the 17th.

Woods played with defending champion Nick Faldo, who had his own troubles on the front nine, with a 41 before finishing with a 75.

Faldo and Woods spoke only occasionally during their round.

“Playing with Nick is nice,” Woods said, smiling. “It’s a nice, quiet day.”

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Doug Ford made his 45th Masters appearance, breaking Sam Snead’s record.

“Big deal. I don’t even know what year this is,” joked 74-year-old Ford, who shot an 85.

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After a hard day at the golf course, Scotland’s Sam Torrance, who shot a 75, said, “I’m going to sit in front of my TV now and watch the rest of this disaster.”

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Fred Couples, after a 69 had made Paul Azinger the early leader in the clubhouse:

“What Paul is doing is like shooting 65. . . . he’s lapping the field.”

Nevertheless, two people passed him.

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Azinger is experimenting with a new ball. He was asked its name.

“I’d tell you, then I’d have to kill you,” Azinger said. “It’s top secret.”

Its name is Srixon. Azinger spelled it, then said, “Don’t ask me anything else.”

“Is it legal?” he was asked.

“I hope so,” he said. “The ball I played last year wasn’t legal, as I found out at the end of the year.”

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Davis Love III, how hard were the greens?

“Very, very hard,” he said after a 72.

And what about those pin placements?

“They’re very, very, very hard.”

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He’s a huge golf fan, but it was Ernie Banks’ first visit to Augusta National. He came away impressed with the layout.

“It’s a great place,” Banks said. “It’s almost as nice as Wrigley Field.”

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Times Wire Services contributed to this story.