Woods Left in the Dark by Slow Start

Tiger Woods is winless in his last six majors ... going on seven.

You couldn’t even say Woods completed a frustrating first round, because he didn’t complete it. Woods walked off the course at four-over par with four holes remaining when play was suspended because of darkness.

Woods will resume first-round play this morning fit to be tied and tied for 55th.

His day got off to a bad start when he drove his tee shot left on the first hole and made bogey. Things got worse when he made a double bogey at the par-four, 455-yard No. 5 hole.

The good news, if you can call it that, was that Woods shot four-over 40 on the front nine.

He also shot 40 on the front nine in 1997 and recovered to win the Masters, and his first major, by 12 strokes.

*

It’s goodbye for sure: Barring a miracle, Arnold Palmer will play his last competitive round at the Masters.

Palmer shot 12-over 84 in Thursday’s opening round, and his chances of making the cut are next to nil.

“I’m a dreamer,” Palmer said. “Tomorrow I may shoot 65.”

That is not likely. Only the top 44 players and those within 10 shots of the lead get to play the weekend.

The 74-year-old Palmer, playing in his 50th and last Masters at Augusta National, wanted to go out with a strong performance.

“It was tough, I didn’t play very well,” Palmer said. “I’m trying to hit it too far. It’s been a big week. I’m tired, I’ll admit. But I’ll be all right [today]. I’ll be better than that.”

Palmer is a four-time winner here, but he has not made the cut since 1983. That, however, has not diminished his love for the game he helped popularize worldwide.

Palmer opened play with three pars in a row before a double bogey on the par-three No. 4 hole. He also had a double on the par-four 10th hole to start a back-nine slide.

“Being a competitor here has been a big part of my life,” he said. “I understand it’s time. It’s time to sit back, watch and enjoy. It was fun today, feeling that adrenaline flowing.... I would have loved to have made the cut. And I may make it yet. I’ll have to quit after nine [holes].”

*

Here’s one way to meet your idol: John Daly pulled his tee shot on the par-four ninth hole so far to the left it landed on the first fairway. Daly arrived at his ball just as Jack Nicklaus was walking up the fairway after his tee shot on No. 1.

“Hey, Jack!” Daly screamed.

Nicklaus didn’t hear him.

“Hey, Jack!” Daly screamed again.

When Nicklaus finally turned around, Daly thanked the 18-time major winner for signing some memorabilia for him.

Nicklaus praised Daly for his win this year in the Buick Open. “Nice going out there,” Nicklaus said. “I haven’t seen you since San Diego.”

Daly, for what it’s worth, floated a beautiful pitch shot from the first fairway to the ninth green and saved par.

*

More on Chris DiMarco’s hole in one on the par-three sixth hole: He was playing with first-round leader Justin Rose.

Rose hit before DiMarco on the 180-yard hole.

“I hit a great shot into about four, five feet,” Rose said of his tee shot. “I was pretty proud of myself until Chris got up there.”

*

You could have called the fashion police on Ireland’s Ian Poulter, who decided to match his frosted hair with a pink visor, and Ireland’s Darren Clarke, who wore red- and white-striped pants with white cuffs.

*

Blast from Masters’ past report: Some of the scores of former champions who completed their first rounds: Ben Crenshaw (two-over 74), Sandy Lyle ( even-par 72), Charles Coody (14-over 88), Nick Faldo (four-over 76), Bernhard Langer (one-under 71), Gary Player (10-over 82), Fred Couples (one-over 73).

Nicklaus, a six-time winner, was two over with one hole left when play was halted.

*

Strangest round: Shigeki Maruyama, who finished second to Mike Weir at the Nissan Open, shot even-par 36 on the front nine and then did not have another par until the 18th hole. On the back nine, he had scores of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and a whopping 8 on the par-three 12th hole.

*

Welcome to the club: Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel are playing in their first Masters after having won their first major titles last year.

Curtis, last year’s British Open champion, shot one-over 73, and Micheel, last year’s PGA Championship winner, shot 72.