Augusta: There was no stopping golf’s top stars from shining in Monday’s practice round for the 88th Masters, with Scotty Scheffler and Tiger Woods wowing the crowd at Augusta Nationals.
World No. 1 Scheffler and 15-time winner Woods was available for stargazers on a cloudless afternoon with 76% of the day in the lunar shadow.
The favored Scheffler, who is looking for his second green jacket in three seasons, played with American fan Stewart Hagestad and stopped to watch the eclipse through specially designed eclipse glasses.
“It’s pretty neat just to have a little girl come in the glasses and be like, ‘Hey, check out the catch,'” Hagestad said. “Obviously I didn’t make his day, but I hope Scotty does. These things are great.”
By winning in 2022, Scheffler can compete with Woods as the only player to win the Masters twice in the world rankings.
Woods, who tied Sam Snead for a record 82 PGA Tour titles, is returning from right ankle surgery last April. He played with Will Zalatoris on the back nine as the sun came out.
“He played really well today,” Zalatoris said.
“With everything he’s been through, it’s amazing to see how he’s doing.”
The 48-year-old legend, who is trying to walk after suffering serious leg injuries from a car crash in 2021, hopes to match the record of 24 consecutive Masters tournaments he shares with Gary Player and Fred Couples.
Woods, a five-time Masters champion, withdrew from the 2019 Masters after being sidelined by plantar fasciitis last year. He returned from the PGA at the Riviera in February after a round due to illness.
Zalatori found the Masters-logo audience to be a valuable audience to capture.
“I found some really nice eclipse glasses that I’ll keep for the rest of my life,” Zalatoris said.
It looks like a banana or a crescent moon in sunglasses, but even if the light is on the driving range, of course it won’t get any darker.
“Every 10 minutes I borrow one of my glasses and find at 3:08 to look at it. It’s pretty wild.
“It’s almost dangerous out there and my eyes hurt a bit, but I’m dealing with it. It’s fun.”
Peter Malnati admitted that he was “nervous about things like this” and said: “I don’t think I will forget the eclipse on the 24th in my first Masters on Monday, so two memories will come together.”
Canada’s Corey Conners has been impressive with three major Top-10 finishes in the past four years.
“It exceeded my expectations. It was great.” “It was clearer than I expected.
It wasn’t the first time the Masters lights went out.
In the final round of the 1940 Masters, Jimmy Demaret shot a 71 to beat Lloyd Mangrum by four strokes.
Other players are chasing Masters history.
Four-time world number two from Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy has not won since 2014 but is looking to win the Masters for the 10th time in his career.
Spanish defenseman Jon Rahm could become the fourth player to win the Masters title in as many years, joining Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo among the 13 LIV Golf players in the field this week.
