Tiger with one fewer playing partner in astonishing Masters comeback

AUGUSTA: Tiger Woods continues his remarkable comeback from severe leg injuries Friday with an afternoon tee time at the Masters, the legend firmly in title contention early in the second round.

But he will have one fewer playing partner after Louis Oosthuizen withdrew from the tournament. Organisers made the announcement about 90 minutes before Oosthuizen was to tee off alongside Woods and Joaquin Niemann in the second-to-last group.

Oosthuizen’s absence means Woods and Niemann will play as a twosome for the second round.

The 15-time major champion Woods battled through pain to walk the hilly 7,510-yard Augusta National layout, firing a one-under par 71 in Thursday’s opening round to share 10th.

Woods was four strokes behind South Korean leader Im Sung-jae after 18 holes and remained that far adrift in breezy conditions early on Friday.

A botched chip cost Im a bogey at the first hole but he sank a 24-foot birdie putt at the par-4 third to return to 5-under, one stroke ahead of late-starting Australian Cameron Smith and 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson, who opened on 69 and sank a six-foot birdie putt at the par-3 fourth.

There was little movement on the leaderboard among the second round’s early wave, though several former champions slowly made inroads. Charl Schwartzel, who won in 2011, was two-under for the day and two-under for the tournament through 10 holes in the second round. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson was two-under for the day and one-under for the tournament through seven.

Scotland’s Sandy Lyle and amateur Stewart Hagestad were the first off under sunny skies at 8am as another large crowd made their way onto the grounds.

“I have the stamina to keep going,” Woods said. “There’s a long way to go and a lot of shots to be played.”

Woods made an astonishing return to competition 14 months after a car crash in Southern California caused him severe right leg injuries.

Rods, plates and pins help hold together his leg after he was hospitalized for weeks and unable to walk for months.

Rehabilitation work has allowed the 46-year-old medical marvel to make an epic comeback at an iconic setting.

Between rounds, Woods soaked his leg in icy water to ease the swelling while trying to keep it strong for Friday shotmaking.

Im shot 67 Thursday for a one-stroke lead over Smith, with whom he shared second behind Johnson at the 2020 Masters, played in November due to Covid-19.

That was the last top-level event Woods had played before Thursday.

Thousands of spectators lined every hole of the famed course Thursday to cheer Woods in his amazing quest to capture a record-tying sixth green jacket after once fearing he might lose his leg.

“Walking is not easy,” Woods said. “With all the hard work, my leg, it’s going to be difficult for the rest of my life. That’s just the way it is, but I’m able to do it.”

Woods drew energy from the crowd of supporters over the same layout where he won his first major title 25 years ago and claimed his most recent major title in 2019 — when he completed an amazing comeback after spinal fusion surgery.

Woods, who has slid to 973rd in world rankings, would match the all-time Masters win record of Jack Nicklaus with a victory and break the record he shares with Sam Snead of 82 career US PGA victories.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, seeking a green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam, chipped his approach at the par-5 second to two feet and made a birdie putt to reach level par for the tournament after an opening 73.

McIlroy hasn’t won a major title since 2014.