Tiger Woods was amongst these out early in Monday’s follow spherical for the 88th Masters as not even an eclipse may cease golf’s high stars from shining at Augusta National.
Woods, making a comeback after ankle surgical procedure final April, made a short morning foray onto the again 9 with new caddie Lance Bennett after a front-nine stroll on Sunday afternoon as the 15-time main winner ready for his twenty sixth Masters begin.
The 48-year-old legend hopes to make his twenty fourth consecutive Masters lower and break the event file he now shares with Gary Player and Fred Couples.
Tiger Woods withdrew final 12 months
Woods, whose most up-to-date main title got here on the 2019 Masters, withdrew final 12 months after making the lower due to plantar fasciitis.
He later underwent ankle surgical procedure associated to extreme leg accidents suffered in a 2021 automobile crash which have restricted his capacity to stroll 72 holes.
The five-time Masters winner withdrew from his comeback PGA occasion at Riviera in February due to sickness.
Spectators at Augusta National acquired specifically made glasses for the afternoon eclipse, full with a Masters emblem, with up to 76.1 p.c of totality of the moon masking the solar anticipated over the famed course.
Dimmed circumstances are forecast on the course for about 2.5 hours throughout the follow session, however there was anticipated to be adequate gentle for gamers to full work on the course or on the driving vary and chipping space.
Augusta National posted on X that the optimum viewing space on the course can be at Amen Corner – the famed eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth holes identified extra for Sunday drama than Monday stargazing.
It’s not the primary time the lights have gone out on the Masters.
There was an annular eclipse, when a hoop of the solar is seen across the moon, throughout the closing spherical of the 1940 Masters, when Jimmy Demaret fired a 71 to defeat Lloyd Mangrum by 4 strokes, what was then a file win margin for the occasion.
Field of 89
The discipline of 89 for the 12 months’s first main championship was accomplished by Akshay Bhatia, who certified on Sunday by successful the Texas Open.
The 22-year-old American is the primary participant to attain the finals of the junior Drive, Chip and Putt competitors at Augusta National and qualify for the Masters.
He competed within the inaugural version of the youth occasion in 2014.
“Augusta National is obviously very special,” Bhatia stated.
“As a kid going there for the first time in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt is pretty special, something I’ll always remember.”
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
