Tiger Woods excites patrons in practice round

A patron stood next to the No. 1 fairway, looked at the person beside him with eyes wide and said, “That’s Tiger Woods.”

For the first time since his final-round 70 in 2013, Woods played in front of patrons Monday at Augusta National Golf Club.

“It’s progression,” Woods said. “I felt like I had to get my game into a spot where I could compete to win a golf tournament, and it’s finally there.”

Woods started his Monday practice round at 4:25 p.m., playing alongside Mark O’Meara. The patrons quickly took notice and crowded around every hole along the way, constantly shouting words of encouragement between shots.

The four-time Masters Tournament champion appeared laid back and confident as he strolled through the front nine. After sticking it within a few feet on No. 7, he playfully drilled the putt past the hole and grinned. He also fist-bumped a pair of children behind the No. 8 green.

After embracing O’Meara at No. 9, Woods went to the back nine alone for a couple more holes.

Woods started the round by hitting his drive off No. 1 into the No. 9 fairway, but he recovered by hitting his approach over the pine trees to about 8 feet from the hole. He drew applause by sinking the birdie putt.

Along with the close approach on No. 7, he reached the par-5 second hole in two shots and hit it tight at Nos. 3 and 4.

“I got up on the fourth hole and hit an incredible rescue club to about 9 feet – high cut – as good a shot as I can hit at 58 years old,” O’Meara said. “Then he took out a 3-iron and hit a high soft cut and hit it inside me. He said, ‘Things never change,’ and I said, ‘Exactly.’ ”

Woods’ chipping has been under the microscope after struggling around the greens in his most recent tournaments. He showed better feel at the first green, practicing from the front and right sides by chipping onto the green’s various shelves.

He placed a tee on the green to simulate the week’s pin positions, and he kept most chips within close range. He left one short after attempting to run it up a right-side mound, but chips with more loft stayed within a few feet of the hole.

This came after getting to the practice range around 3:30 p.m. and going straight to the chipping area, where he spent more time than in the driving area.

“Chipping is fine,” Woods said. “I wanted to test out some wedges out here. That was why I was chipping a little bit more. It came down to a couple different bounce settings, because it’s different from Florida. We figured the right one out.”

Much like on the course, the patrons closest to Woods reached about 10-deep.

After one man took a few pictures, he handed the camera back to his father, ready to leave the patron scrum watching from the stands.

“We saw the man,” he said. “We saw the G.O.A.T.” – the greatest of all time.

Though Woods made two visits to Augusta this past week, he didn’t make his 2015 Masters participation official until a tweet at 3:20 p.m. Friday.

He had back surgery just before the 2014 Masters, forcing him to miss the tournament for the first time since 1995.

Though some patrons had different takes on Woods’ chances, they were unanimous in acknowledging the thrill Woods provided now that he’s back after missing the 2014 tournament.

After taking his friend’s picture on the fifth hole, Tom Fitzgerald took another photo of Woods. Fitzgerald’s first trip to the Masters, coincidentally, was in 2005 – Woods’ last Masters win.

Could this be his year?

“Tiger at the Masters?” Fitzgerald said. “Always a chance. Absolutely. It’s his tournament.”