Yesterday, Tiger Woods had as impressive a first round at the Masters as anyone could have possibly imagined. The weather is supposed to be perfect, the hecklers have been eradicated and everyone is back talking about the golf again, save the ongoing bewilderment over that crazy commercial. To keep up the first positive press he’s had in months, to attempt to recapture all that he has lost, he now just has to do it three more times. While ignoring the airplanes asking him about his “Bootyism.”
Unlike yesterday, Tiger has an early tee time today: 10:35 a.m., which means, once again, his first nine holes will be telecast to the world as him swinging and squinting. (Richard Sandomir of the Times has a rundown of ESPN’s Tiger hype yesterday.) The early tee time means Tiger’s round will mostly be over by the time ESPN’s coverage begins at 4 p.m., which is bad for them but good for cbssports.com, which will show Tiger’s back nine in its entirety.
Remember: Yesterday was the best first-round score Tiger has ever put up in a Masters. Had his putting not been off all day, it would have been even better, and he’d be in first place right now. No hecklers, no worries, elderly competitors ahead of him … we’re telling you, everything is set up for Tiger to win this thing. And then what happens? We’re legitimately curious.