Gary Woodland climbs ranks without pizzazz

Anyone looking for flashy highlights in Gary Wood­land’s opening-round 70 on Thursday won’t find much.

Woodland didn’t wow the Au­gusta National crowd by draining long putts. He didn’t elicit pine-shaking roars by stuffing iron shots to inches.

Perhaps the only noteworthy shot he made all day was a birdie putt from the front fringe on No. 15, and even that seemed almost routine.

What Woodland’s round lacked in style, it more than made up for in substance. Making his first Mas­ters appearance since injuring his left wrist in the third round, shooting an 85 and withdrawing in 2012, Woodland’s round included three birdies and one bogey.

“It was nice to get back here after what happened a couple years ago, but I’m a different golfer than I was then, too,” said Woodland, who posted his fourth below-par score in eight Masters rounds and was a stroke away from matching his best round, 69, in 2011. “I’m confident, I’m healthy and Tony (Na­varro, his caddie) gives me added confidence around here. It’s my third year here, but I feel like I’ve been here 100 times. It’s nice to have him on the bag, and it’s nice to be healthy.”

On Thursday, Woodland shot 3-under on the four par-5 holes, birdieing three.

“These set up really good for me,” Woodland said. “I can hit 3-wood off two of them and where I’m hitting driver, the fairway is pretty wide. I can attack them.”

Wood­land stuck to a conservative game plan he and Navarro – a veteran of numerous Masters – agreed on.

“Tony’s dialed me back a little bit, and I’m playing a little more conservative out here than I have in the past,” Woodland said.

Woodland made a sand save for birdie on the par-5 second to get into red numbers, but he gave the shot back two holes later when he couldn’t get up and down after hitting in the front right bunker on the par-3 fourth. He narrowly missed birdies on the next three holes, then nearly holed his chip for eagle on No. 8.

Perhaps the key to Wood­land’s round were par saves on Nos. 9 and 10. On nine, he sent his drive into the trees right, and on 10, he clipped the left trees off the tee.

“Those were really the only two bad shots I hit all day, Woodland said. ‘‘I got fortunate and hit a great second shot on nine to get it up there where it was. On 10, it was a pretty good up and down. We just played smart.”

Woodland had birdie chances on each of his final three holes but parred his way home.