Tiger Woods' start could have been better

FROM AUGUSTA, GA. — As the tiny white missile sailed from deep in the fairway shadows toward the 18th green, a woman in a green sweater boldly shouted, "In the hole!"

How was Tiger Woods' day?

His shot bounced over the green, into the gallery, and appeared to hit that same woman in the foot.

"I let a couple of shots slip away at the end there," he said with a wince.

On a Masters opening day that featured blue skies and red scores, the world's greatest golfer let more than shots slip.

He let an iron slip, firing it to the ground in anger. He let a deep knee-bend slip, folding himself up in frustration. He let a giant shrug slip, and a violent head shake slip, and who knows how many naughty words slip.

He has never been a brilliant first-day player here, but he has never squandered such a brilliant first-day opportunity, shooting a two-under-par 70 on a day when 20 others shot better.

He is five strokes behind leader Chad Campbell, and his green jacket is in a twist over it.

"I knew it could be had with good shots," he said of conditions that turned Bobby Jones' southern dreamscape into just another hillbilly pitch-and-putt. "[I] just didn't get it done."

Some of his problems seemed to come with the increased testing of his surgically repaired left knee -- occasionally it looked as if he were favoring the knee.

"It feels great, thank you," he said sharply.

Another problem is that he just never starts well here, as if he uses Thursdays to surgically examine the course. His 70 was his best first-round score here in seven years, during which time his final round score has been almost two strokes lower.

When asked about first-round troubles, he said, "Yeah, that's how I won it four times too."

When Tiger Woods feels a need to publicly recite the most decorated resume in sports, you know he's upset.

If it wasn't for three consecutive birdies on the back nine, it could have been worse. Then again, after he hit that ball into the crowd, he chipped it back about 50 feet beyond the pin, and ended the round with a bogey, so maybe it couldn't have been worse.

"Basically I was in position to shoot four under par," he said.

Having shown a bit of intolerance, he then did a bit of taunting.

"Well, you know, it's a loooong week," he said. "And the weather is going to start changing a little bit here, and you've just got to be patient."