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This post will be updated hole by hole as Tiger Woods plays his first round at the Masters .

Tiger Woods’ first round score: 73 (+1)

Quick analysis

Well, his name isn’t at the top of the leaderboard and it won’t get many casual fans to stop and say ‘wow!’ But considering where Woods’ game has been, this is a great score for him. He didn’t play lights out by any means, but his ability to withstand a rollercoaster round — four bogeys, three birdies — was downright impressive. Woods could have let the round get away from him after hitting the water at No. 12, but two late birdies salvaged the day. If he can finally start scoring on the par 5 come Friday’s second round, we could be in for the weekend that Tiger fans have been waiting for.

Hole 18: Par 4, 465 yards — PAR

Woods began his final hole of the day with a great 292-yard drive that split the middle of the fairway. He followed with an approach shot to the back of the green and two-putted for par to finish at +1 for the day.

Hole 17: Par 4, 440 yards — PAR

Woods’ drive finally goes straight and he hit a nice approach shot to about 20 feet, but a two-putt par sent him to No. 18 for the final hole of the day.

Hole 16: Par 3, 170 yards — BIRDIE

Better late than never? Woods’ tee shot off this par 3 didn’t look that great at first, but it caught the slope after landing far right and came back to about 20 feet. And then his putter finally showed up, creating a birdie that moved him to a much more palatable score. He’s birdied two of the last three holes with the final two holes awaiting.

Hole 15: Par 5, 530 yards – PAR

Nothing doing here, either. His drive off the tee at No. 15 went wildly right and while he was able to recover and put himself in position for a reasonable birdie putt, he still wasn’t able to pick up a stroke. Woods is currently six shots behind current leader Henrik Stenson (-4 through 13).

Hole 14: Par 4, 440 yards – BIRDIE

What, Tiger worry? Woods records his second birdie of the day after hitting his best approach shot of the round: a fairway iron to about eight feet that he sinks to gain a shot. It’s an impressive performance on a hole that has been playing tough; Woods is only the second player to birdie it in the first round.

Hole 13: Par 5, 510 yards – PAR

The par 5s have always been Woods’ moneymakers at Augusta, but he has yet to take advantage of them today. Though he hit his first two shots way right, Woods recovered enough on his third shot to give himself a 12-foot putt for birdie. Alas, he missed that one, giving him three pars on the three par 5s so far. The last big par-5 scoring opportunity awaits on No. 15.

Hole 12: Par 3, 155 yards — BOGEY

Tiger’s first foray back into Amen Corner wasn’t a welcome one as he hit water with his tee shot on No. 12. He did, however, stop this hole from really going sideways after dropping a 20-foot bogey putt.

We said a few holes ago that Woods shouldn’t feel any pressure on this back nine, but he just made a lot of trouble for himself over these last two holes and needs to stop the bleeding quickly. He is currently six shots off the lead.

Hole 11: Par 4, 505 yards – BOGEY

Woof. Woods shanked his tee shot right then followed it with a bad recovery shot out of the trees (that hit fans again). Though he still had a shot to save par, the bid missed and he took his third bogey of the day to fall to two-over.

Hole 10: Par 4, 495 yards – PAR

Woods got himself into the sand on three different occasions on the front nine, but he finally caught break on No. 10 as his approach shot bounced out of a bunker and onto the fringe. Woods gets up and down for a par to start the back nine.

Hole 9: Par 4, 460 yards – PAR

The front nine is in the books as Woods makes a routine par. He’s currently four shots behind leader and playing partner Marc Leishman. We’ll see what the back nine holds for Woods, but he shouldn’t be feeling too much pressure to make a move. He’s never had a round below par in the opening round of any of his four Masters wins. In fact, he’s only been in the 60s once during the opening round (a 68 in 2010).

Hole 8: Par 5, 570 yards – PAR

Another appeal to his driver resulted in a nice drive for Woods, 303 yards down the middle of the fairway. The rest of the hole was an adventure, though as his approach shot left a long birdie putt that he wasn’t able to hit. His par putt was more than a tap-in, but he saved to stay at one-over through eight.

Hole 7: Par 4, 450 yards – PAR

Not too much drama on this one. After a tee shot to the right, Woods put his approach over the front bunkers and went long over the pin. Two putts later, he’d saved par.

While all eyes are on Woods’ return, Leishman is excelling. He birdied No. 7 to move to -3 and extend his outright share of the early lead to two strokes.

Hole 6: Par 3, 180 yards – PAR

There’s the aggressive Tiger we all know and love. With a tough back-left pin placement, Woods stiffs his iron shot to seven feet. But he pulls his birdie putt left and has to settle for par.

Almost two hours into the round and Tiger has done some things to like. There are also a number of shots he’d like back. Either way, it’s good to see him back at Augusta National and playing relevant golf.

Hole 5: Par 4, 455 yards – BOGEY

Tiger’s caddie, Joe LaCava, has been busy with the rake early as Woods again hits one of the deep fairway bunkers on five. That’s three traps in the first five holes, if you’re counting at home.

Woods had a long putt for birdie after exiting the sand, but rolled it past the hole eight feet. A par save also missed, leaving Woods with back-to-back bogeys after the birdie on No. 3.

Hole 4: Par 3, 240 yards – BOGEY

Easy come, easy go. Woods gives back the stroke he gained on three by coming up short in the front bunker on his tee shot on four. He left himself a par putt of 15 feet out of the sand, but missed. Back to even.

Hole 3: Par 4, 350 yards – BIRDIE

Wow! Woods is really working his driver early. He smashed it 325 yards off the third tee, leaving him just 17 yards to the green. He chipped to eight feet and calmly walked it in for his first birdie of the tournament. The large gallery responded with its first big Tiger roar of the tournament.

Marc Leishman, one of Woods’ playing partners, also birdies the third to move to -2. He currently leads the tournament with Vijay Singh.

Hole 2: Par 5, 575 yards – PAR

Woods has never eagled this hole and the streak continued on Thursday. A solid drive of 351 yards put him in position to go for the green, but he came up short and landed in the right bunker. A nice save from the sand gave him chance at birdie from 12 feet, but he just missed. Even through two.

Hole 1: Par 4, 445 yards – PAR

And we’re off! Woods’ first drive didn’t match the anticipation that followed him into Augusta this week. His three-wood went left and into the fans standing along the trees. Yet recovered nicely with a shot off the pine straw, coming up just short of the green on the right fringe. A great long putt up the hill gave him two feet for par, which he buried.

That’s actually a good score for Woods, who historically hasn’t played well on No. 1. In fact, he bogeyed the opening hole of the tournament during his wins in 1997, 2001 and 2005. He played the hold a total of +3 during his four Masters wins.

Woods is dressed head to toe in black, looking a little like another Augusta legend, Gary Player.

By the way, Woods is already chasing two fellow Masters champions from his heyday. 2000 champion Vijay Singh is at -3 after recording birdie on three of the first four holes while 1998 champ Mark O’Meara is -1 through five.

Pre-round coverage

It’s been 1,089 days since Tiger Woods played a competitive round at Augusta National.

But the long wait, marked by setbacks caused by both injury and personal strife, is finally over. Woods’ first round at the 2018 Masters kicks off at 10:42 ET.

This tournament will be the most-watched stop in Woods’ comeback tour, which has seen him spring from the sidelines to playing the type of golf it’d actually take to win at Augusta. We’ll be providing live hole-by-hole updates, so keep checking back to see if the four-time green jacket winner can actually put himself in a position to win a fifth this weekend.

While we wait for Tiger’s tee time, check out some of Yahoo Sports’ coverage earlier this week. There’s Dan Wetzel on the practice round that Woods played with Phil Mickelson, Wetz on Woods returning to all anyone really ever wanted him to be and Jay Busbee’s guide to the 2018 Masters.

How to watch: Masters.com or the Masters app is your best bet. Woods, Marc Leishman and Tommy Fleetwood form one of Thursday’s two featured groups, which means you’ll be able to follow every shot of Tiger’s round (provided you have an understanding boss or the day off, of course).

If you can’t devote four hours to watching Woods’ return? Well keep an eye locked here as we’ll bring you every little detail as he aims to conquer a golf course he once owned.

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