PGA

Tiger Woods shot a one-under 71 in the first round of the Masters tournament Thursday, marking his return to professional golf after a 14-month hiatus following a February 2021 car crash in which he suffered serious leg injuries.

After the round, Woods went on ESPN for a post-round interview. When asked what his plans are over the next 24 hours to get ready for the second round Friday, Woods smiled and replied that it will involve "lots of ice."

Woods suffered comminuted open fractures to both the upper and lower tibia and fibula in the one-car crash, per Dr. Anish Mahajan, the interim CEO and chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Hospital.

USA Today's Chris Bumbaca provided more information: "'Comminuted' means there were multiple fragments of the tibia and fibula shattering, ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell said on the network Wednesday morning. 'Open fractures' are otherwise known as compound fractures, meaning the bone has protruded through the skin."

Since the crash, Woods' only competitive golf prior to Thursday came in the two-round PNC Championship with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, last December. The two finished second in the 20-team field. 

Woods looked good Thursday, registering three birdies and two bogeys:

He elaborated on his condition with Collins (h/t Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times).

"I felt good," Woods said. "The whole idea was to keep pushing but keep recovering. ... I've been doing that.

"I figured once the adrenaline kicks in and I get fired up and get in my little world, I can get down to business."

That's exactly what he did as he played consistently throughout the round, parring 13 of 18 holes.

Woods will tee off Friday at 1:41 p.m. ET with Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen. He's almost certain to make the cut. The top 50 and ties will be included in the field, and that currently means anyone at two over or better.

Tiger Woods didn't hesitate when asked Tuesday if he believes he can win the Masters, simply telling reporters, "I do."

He will have some work to do thanks to a quick start from Cameron Smith, but who can really doubt Woods after he battled his way to a one-under 71 as the main attraction of Thursday's opening round?

Woods is always one of the biggest storylines at the Masters, even under normal circumstances.

The 15-time major champion and 82-time PGA Tour title winner has five green jackets and 14 top-10 finishes at Augusta National Golf Club on his illustrious resume. Only Jack Nicklaus (six) has more Masters titles, making Tiger appointment viewing whenever he tees up at the season's first major.

Yet this year presented anything but normal circumstances.

This tournament is Woods' first official PGA Tour event since November 2020 because of serious leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car crash. He required surgery and said amputation was considered at one point.

Even walking 72 holes, let alone playing at a championship level, figured to be a challenge for the all-time great.

"You know, 72 holes is a long road, and it's going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I'm up for," Woods told reporters Tuesday.

He looked more than up for it right out of the gates.

Woods drained a medium-length putt to save par on the first hole after missing the fairway and the green in his first two shots, and he seemed to settle in after that. He ripped off five straight pars to start his round and just missed a birdie when his putt on the fifth rimmed out.

Rather than linger on the near-miss, he unleashed a dart of a tee shot on the par-three sixth to set up his first official birdie in his return to golf.

It became a battle from there, as he overcame poor tee shots on the seventh and ninth holes to save par but struggled with his approach to the green on the par-five eighth and gave back a stroke with a bogey.

The cliche that one can't win a tournament on the first day but can lose it exists for a reason, and Woods continued to keep himself well within striking distance with a steady dose of pars on Nos. 10, 11 and 12 that showed off his scrambling ability.

That steady streak of play put him in position to move back into the red numbers on the par-five 13th, and he delivered with a birdie after reaching the green in two.

While he gave a stroke back with a bogey on the 14th following a poor drive, it was clear he was dialed in with excellent approach shots from out of the tree area on back-to-back holes. And then the moment the galleries were waiting for arrived on No. 16 when he drilled a long birdie putt and punctuated it with a fist pump.

The Augusta roar was back, and it surely won't go anywhere in the later rounds after he finished his inspiring showing with two more pars. The last one fittingly came on a scramble and medium-length putt, mirroring much of the round's theme.

Tiger Woods has become by far the most popular bet to win the 2022 Masters.

"Woods is now ahead of everyone by over 1,000 tickets," Max Meyer, spokesperson for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN's David Purdum on Wednesday.

The five-time Masters champion suffered significant leg injuries in a car crash 14 months ago, and he hasn't competed in a PGA Tour event since November 2020. He surprised the world by showing up to Augusta National for practice rounds, saying that he is now preparing to play. 

Though he is still considered a long shot with 40-1 odds at DraftKings, fans are expecting big things from the superstar. Just in 2019, Woods won the Masters for his first major title in 11 years.

A similar result would create a major liability for sportsbooks.

"Tiger winning the Masters would be the worst result for us at any golf tournament since we started operating in the U.S. by far," Jay Croucher, head of trading for PointsBet, said.

While the general public will certainly be rooting for Tiger this week, the books will hope favorites like Jon Rahm or Rory McIlroy finish in first place.

Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).

Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

Phil Mickelson will not participate in this year's Masters Tournament, but it is not because he wasn't invited.

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley told reporters Wednesday that he offered Mickelson an invitation that Lefty turned down via text message:

I would like to say we did not disinvite Phil. Phil is a three-time Masters champion and is invited in that category and many other categories; he's the defending PGA champion.

Phil reached out to me ... and let me know that he did not intend to play. That was by way of a text, and I thanked him for his courtesy in letting me know. I told him that we certainly appreciated that and, you know, told him that I was certainly willing to discuss that further with him if he'd like. He thanked me, and we had a very cordial exchange.

Mickelson has been in the public spotlight since he made comments to author Alan Shipnuck about a potential breakaway league being funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach shared those comments from the upcoming book, Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar:

They're scary motherf---ers to get involved with.

... They killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.

Mickelson received plenty of criticism and lost sponsors before releasing a statement that said, in part, "It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words."          

He has been away from the game at a professional level since and last played at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He notably did not participate in the Players Championship and the WGC-Dell Match Play.

Some of Mickelson's greatest triumphs have come at Augusta National as a three-time champion (2004, 2006 and 2010) who has made 29 career starts at the Masters.         

Tiger Woods is scheduled to tee off the first round of the 2022 Masters Tournament at 10:34 a.m. ET on Thursday alongside Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.

Augusta National Golf Club announced the full slate of tee times for the first two rounds of the season's first major on Tuesday. Here's a look at some other notable groups with their opening-round start times:

• 10:45 a.m. ET: Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, James Piot
• 10:56 a.m. ET: Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau
• 1:30 p.m. ET: Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
• 1:41 p.m. ET: Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm
• 1:52 p.m. ET: Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
• 2:03 p.m. ET: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy

Woods confirmed during his press conference Tuesday he's planning to play "as of right now," which would be his first official appearance since November 2020, and said he's teeing it up with the intent of being in contention:

He's a five-time Masters champion, and 1992 Masters winner Fred Couples, who played alongside Tiger and Justin Thomas in a practice round Monday, said his game looked in fine form.

"He looked phenomenal," Couples told reporters. "What impressed me the most is he was bombing it. I know JT's not the longest hitter on tour, but I know he's damn long. He was with him, flushing it."

With his game seemingly in good shape, the question surrounds whether his right leg, which was seriously injured in a February 2021 car crash, can physically handle four trips around Augusta.

Meanwhile, Hideki Matsuyama arrives as the defending champion after a final-round 65 to win last year's tournament by four strokes.

Matsuyama isn't the top choice on the betting markets to defend his title, though. Jon Rahm is the slight favorite over Thomas and a host of others, according to FanDuel Sportsbook:

The Masters will begin Thursday at 8 a.m. when Jose Maria Olazabal and J.J. Spaun are the first players from the 91-golfer field to tee off.

Digital coverage will be available all four days on the Masters' official website. On television, ESPN will handle the first two rounds (3 p.m. ET both days) followed by CBS for the weekend (3 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET on Sunday).

A champion will be crowned around 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Phil Mickelson will not be participating in this year's Masters Tournament, an Augusta National official confirmed to CBS Sports' Kyle Porter.

That comes after the event website had listed Mickelson among its "past champions not playing" on its list of 2022 invitees for April's major.

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, it will mark the first time since 1994 that Mickelson won't participate in the tournament.

As Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated noted, "Mickelson has been the subject of considerable controversy lately due to his comments about the PGA Tour and his flirtations with a rival golf tour led by Greg Norman called the LIV Golf Invitational Series."

In February, comments Mickelson made in November to Alan Shipnuck of The Fire Pit Collective caused an uproar. Talking about his reasons for aligning himself with the Saudi Golf League, Mickelson said he could overlook Saudi Arabia's terrible record of human rights violations and sportswashing if it meant having more leverage over the PGA Tour:

We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They've been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won't do what's right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I'm not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.

Mickelson later apologized for his remarks:

Rory McIlroy called Mickelson's comments "naive, selfish, egotistical, ignorant," adding that the situation was "just very surprising and disappointing, sad."

McIlroy added in March that Mickelson deserved forgiveness.

"Look, we all make mistakes. We all say things we want to take back. No one is different in that regard," he told reporters. "But we should be allowed to make mistakes, and we should be allowed to ask for forgiveness and for people to forgive us and move on. Hopefully, he comes back at some stage, and he will, and people will welcome him back and be glad that he is back."

Mickelson last played at the Saudi International tournament on Feb. 6. He lost a number of sponsorship deals as a result of his comments, including KPMG and Workday, while Callaway paused its longtime relationship with the golfer.

"I have not talked to Phil since he made his comments and since he said that he was stepping away," Monahan told reporters earlier in March. "I think the ball is in his court. I would welcome a phone call from him. But it’s hard for me to talk about the different scenarios that could play out."

Monahan also declined to answer if Mickelson had been suspended by the PGA Tour after his remarks.

"He stepped away on his own accord, and he's asked for time," he said. "He's been given that time. We don't comment on disciplinary matters, potential matters or actual matters. But every player is accountable for their actions out here."

As Harig noted, the Masters has its own criteria for selecting its participants, so any potential Mickelson suspension would be irrelevant. But it appears that Mickelson's hiatus will be extending through this year's Masters, and possibly beyond.

Sam Burns won the Valspar Championship for the second year in a row after outlasting Davis Riley in a two-hole playoff.

The two Americans were 17 strokes under par for the tournament at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Burns shot 69 in the final round Sunday to match Riley, who entered the day with a three-stroke lead.

In the playoff, Burns came through with an impressive birdie on the second hole to pull out the win.

Justin Thomas and Matthew NeSmith each finished one stroke back in a tie for third. 

Final Leaderboard

1. Sam Burns (-17)

2. Davis Riley (-17)

T3. Justin Thomas (-16)

T3. Matthew NeSmith (-16)

T5. Matt Fitzpatrick (-14)

T5. Brian Harman (-14)

T7. Sahith Theegala (-12)

T7. Stewart Cink (-12)

T7. Kevin Streelman (-12)

T7. Adam Hadwin (-12)

T7. Robert Streb (-12)

T12. Brooks Koepka (-11)

T12. Xander Schauffele (-11)

Full results and stats via PGATour.com.

Riley stormed on top of the leaderboard with his third-round score of 62, putting him three strokes clear of the rest of the field. He kept this lead through four holes until a brutal showing on the par-five fifth hole:

The snowman on the card pushed him out of the lead, creating a crowded race at the top heading into the back nine.

Burns and Thomas were among those who took advantage with multiple birdies giving them each a share of the lead.

Riley was fortunately able to regroup, keeping himself among the leaders with a quality chip-in a few holes later:

Burns eventually built a two-stroke lead, but his path to victory got harder when he bogeyed No. 17.

Riley then forced a tie with a birdie on the same hole.

Both players missed potential tournament-winning birdie putts on 18, leading to a playoff.

After Burns and Riley each earned a par in the first playoff hole, the battle moved to the 16th hole. It was Burns who finally ended up on top with a long birdie putt enough to secure his third PGA Tour win.

The top players will now prepare for the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, which begins Wednesday in Austin, Texas.