ABSTRACT:

AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, Tiger Woods sat in the Augusta National interview room and spoke confidently about how he doesn’t “make the big numbers” any more, and that a bad hole for him is a bogey or, at worst, a double.

So there was Woods yesterday in the Masters first round on No. 8… making an 8… from the woods.

A bad reaction to the snowman on the par-5 eighth and Woods would have been on the verge of playing himself out of the tournament.

But Woods had 1997 on which to draw. he shot 40 on the Thursday front nine in ’97 and went on to shoot the rest of the way to win the tournament in record fashion.

“I’m in good shape,” Woods said. “I’m right where I want to be.”