Tiger Woods faced the prospect of completing 23 holes in one day as he looked to keep his hopes of a record-equalling sixth Masters title alive on Friday.
Woods was among the 27 players who were unable to finish their first rounds on Thursday at Augusta National after bad weather meant the start of play had been delayed by two and a half hours.
The 15-time major winner managed to complete 13 holes in one under par to lie six shots off the pace set by former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, with pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler just a shot behind following a flawless 66.
Scheffler came into the week with form figures of 1-1-2 and the biggest obstacle to a third win in four starts would appear to be his wife Meredith going into labour with their first child.
“The nursery is not quite ready and we’ve had some issues at our house the last few weeks,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.
“As far as her going into labour, I wouldn’t say I’m very concerned. We haven’t seen any of the early signs. But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time.
“Yeah, [we have] open lines of communication and she can get a hold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
Shot of the day
Scottie Scheffler holed out from a bunker on the 12th for his third birdie in a flawless 66.
Statistic of the day
Top statistician Justin Ray highlights the tough task facing anyone carding one under par or worse in round one.
Quote of the day
“It feels like I’ve just gone 12 rounds against Mike Tyson” – Former champion Sergio Garcia after battling the windy conditions to shoot 72.
Hardest hole
With three players yet to complete the hole, the 11th was narrowly ranked the hardest hole ahead of the 18th, with six birdies, 32 bogeys and three double bogeys giving a scoring average of 4.372.
Easiest hole
The par-five eighth played downwind and yielded three eagles, 50 birdies and just three bogeys for a scoring average of 4.404.
Tee times
The first round will resume at 0750 local time (1250BST), with the second round getting under way at 0800.
Weather forecast
Slightly cooler and less humid conditions return Friday with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low 70s. It will continue to be windy out of the west at 15-20mph, with gusts up to 30mph throughout the day. After a cool start on Saturday morning, temperatures will rebound nicely this weekend with highs in the upper 70s Saturday and low to mid 80s on Sunday with plentiful sunshine.
McIlroy: Golf could learn from Northern Ireland peace process
Rory McIlroy has urged professional golf to find a "compromise" to the ongoing rift between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV circuit.
The world number two suggested they should follow the example of the Northern Ireland peace process, recalling the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a peace deal that helped to end the Troubles in his homeland.
McIlroy noted the advantages of a deal being reached soon while admitting that both golf tours would have to compromise in the process.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, McIlroy said: "I sort of liken it to like when Northern Ireland went through the peace process in the '90s and the Good Friday Agreement. Neither side was happy.
"Catholics weren't happy, Protestants weren't happy, but it brought peace and then you just sort of learn to live with whatever has been negotiated, right?
"That was in 1998, and 20, 25, 30 years ahead, my generation doesn't know any different. It's just this is what it's always been like, and we've never known anything but peace.
"That's sort of my little way of trying to think about it and trying to make both sides see that there could be a compromise here.
"It's probably not going to feel great for either side, but if it's a place where the game of golf starts to thrive again, and we can all get back together, then I think that's ultimately a really good thing."
Tiger Woods confirmed as part of PGA Championship field
Tiger Woods has been officially named as part of the field for next week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
Woods, who has clinched four of his 15 major titles at the PGA Championship, made a record-breaking 24th consecutive cut at the Masters last month.
A nightmare third round of 82 – his worst ever at Augusta National – meant he finished last of all players to make the cut on 16 over, but he immediately outlined his intention to play the remaining three majors of 2024.
On Tuesday, the 48-year-old was officially confirmed as being part of the field for next week's event in Louisville, joining 15 other past winners including Rory McIlroy and defending champion Brooks Koepka.
Two further spots will be allocated to the winners of this week's Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic.
While McIlroy won the last PGA Championship to be held at Valhalla in 2014, Woods triumphed on the previous occasion in 2000, the first leg of the 'Tiger Slam' in which he held all four major titles at once.
Last week, Woods was given a special exemption to allow him to feature at June's U.S. Open, for which he failed to qualify after slipping to 801st in the world rankings.
Things trending in the right direction for Koepka ahead of PGA Championship defence
Brooks Koepka believes things are trending in the right direction as he prepares to defend his PGA Championship title next week, having warmed up with a two-shot win at LIV Golf Singapore.
Koepka recorded his first triumph on the LIV circuit this year on Sunday, shooting a three-under final round of 68 to see off competition from Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.
A resurgent Smith shot five under in the third round in Singapore, but Koepka carded four birdies and one bogey to ensure he became the first player to win four titles on the LIV tour.
His return to form comes at an ideal time, as he gears up for a bid to win his fourth PGA Championship title – and sixth major overall – at Valhalla Golf Club next week.
"It's all starting to come around. I've put in a lot of work and I like the way things are trending," the Florida native said.
"I just need to go back next week and make sure everything continues, do the right stuff and go from there."
Kopeka had finished in a share of ninth in LIV's previous event in Adelaide one week earlier, four shots back of winner Brendan Steele.
The 34-year-old continued: "I feel good – I feel a lot better than I did last week.
"It was about rounding the corner for me. I was improving but the results weren't there. It's nice to see some results and the hard work paying off.
"I still have the same expectations every time I go tee it up and that's to win. Those are my expectations, what I want to do. One result doesn't mean anything really in the scheme of things.
"For two weeks, a lot can change. Yeah, it does help, but at the same time, I've seen guys miss cuts and then go win and then win and then not compete the week after. It's all ebbs and flows."
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