Woods signals return to form

Former world number one excites in Masters practice round

AUGUSTA: Tiger Woods thrilled Masters fans with a strong practice round on Monday at Augusta National, solid chips and approach shots signaling a return to form by the 14-time major champion.

Woods, who missed last year's Masters due to back surgery, excited spectators with a late-afternoon practice round alongside long-time pal Mark O'Meara.

"Don't ever underestimate Woods," said O'Meara. "I saw some good signs out there."

Woods, who has sunk to 111th in the world rankings, made his first public shotmaking display since withdrawing from Torrey Pines after only 11 holes in February with back issues and a woeful short game.

On Monday, Woods arrived by plane from Florida in the afternoon and went directly to Augusta National's practice chipping area, where he hit about 70 shots with no sign of the horrid form from prior events, and driving range, where he spent slightly under an hour

Meanwhile, world number one Rory McIlroy, who would complete a career Grand Slam and win his third major in a row by capturing his first green jacket on Sunday, practiced on Monday alongside two amateur debutantes, reigning British Amateur champion Bradley Neil of Scotland and American Byron Meth, the US Public Links champion.

"It was a blast," said Meth. "The whole experience was awesome."

As excited as people are about McIlroy's run at history, curiosity over Woods stole the show Monday.

"There's always a buzz when he's in the field," said Sweden's second-ranked Henrik Stenson. "It's good to see him back in action and see where his game is at."

"We want him back. We need him back," said American Brandt Snedeker. "He brings a lot of drama. I would love to see him in it on Sunday."

Australia's fifth-ranked Jason Day hopes to stay under the radar with the most attention on McIlroy, US star Jordan Spieth and especially Woods.

"Everyone's excited and interested to see how he performs this week, what the state of the game is for him, because he's such a huge part of golf," said Day.

 

 

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