Ben Coley looks ahead to Tiger Woods' second round in the Masters while selecting his best bets for the second day at Augusta National.
Golf betting tips: The Masters round two
2pts Shane Lowry to win his three-ball at 11/8 (General)
1pt double Lowry and Luke List to win their three-balls at 6/1 (Sky Bet)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
SPORTING LIFE RAB: Lowry & List at 6/1
How will Tiger Woods fare in the second round?
Tiger Woods did what Tiger Woods does and fought for every one of his 71 shots on Thursday. It was in its own small way another extraordinary round of golf in the career of the game's greatest, and a personal victory if not yet a professional one. Woods could've lost a limb last year and hadn't played since the previous one. He returned at Augusta and got it round under-par.
There were some signs of discomfort, and Woods was not able to bend down properly to read putts. There were also a handful of worrying shots, particularly drives left on 14 and 18. Perhaps, towards the end of his first competitive round in more than 500 days, Woods did begin to feel it, and perhaps things will get worse as the tournament continues.
For now, Woods has a platform, and from it we should expect him to make the cut. But it's interesting that bookmakers are content to make him outsider of three against Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen on Friday, and I don't know that they're wrong to. Woods required all his willpower and plenty of Augusta smarts, which meant that the brilliant shots like a towering approach to the sixth were not undermined. It's just going to be very hard, though not impossible, for him to keep pushing forward.
For now, it's best to stick to the pre-tournament plan where Woods is concerned: keep expectations low, but respect high. There's no need to go betting against the closest thing sport has to a miracle worker, because he might just go and work another miracle. Embrace the magnificence of his very presence, and press on.
Determined Lowry to bounce back
SHANE LOWRY's pre-tournament plan would not have looked much like Thursday's first round. The Irishman did something that will have annoyed him greatly and destroyed his own hard work with one poor wedge shot to the 15th, making double-bogey on the par-five to fall from under-par to over-par, which is where he ended the day.
Lowry was frustrated afterwards, probably because his approach play has been exemplary of late, but it was his approach play that cost him. Throughout the round, he was in prime position only to waste it with an errant second shot, most notably at the seventh where he came up a long way short having presumably chunked his wedge. He was also unfortunate at times, hitting the flag at the fourth and annoyed not to have made a second hole-in-one in the space of a month.
In the end his highlight came courtesy of one of those oh-so-Lowry chip-ins, for eagle at the 13th, which he followed with a birdie. All the more reason to be disgusted with himself for dunking a wedge at the lengthened 15th, where the frustration doubles given that he might feel he'd have been as well to have gone for the green in two.
Anyway, all of this could fuel a better second round, and I feel sure that if he continues to drive the ball as well, his approach play will improve. Thursday's first round was an anomaly in a rock-solid season and while it leaves him with work to do, he'll know there's a lot of golf left. Conditions should suit over the weekend and if he can break 70 on Friday, there may yet be some hope.
Whether or not he breaks 70, I like the price against Kevin Na and Max Homa (1808 BST). The latter produced yet another hugely disappointing major round, shooting 74 despite an encouraging start. Na on the other hand did what Lowry could not and took care of the back-nine, turning this three-ball around in the process, but Friday afternoon's breeze is less in his favour and he's not a player to be afraid of here.
List worth a final chance
It might just be worth taking a forgiving approach to the day in general and adding LUKE LIST to beat Matthew Wolff and Mackenzie Hughes (1735 BST).
Wolff shot 81, continuing a rotten start to his Masters career and confirming that his game in general is in disarray. A bounce back is possible but not probable, especially as he hit just five of 13 greens, worst among the professionals.
Hughes might be the one to capitalise again but this is an important round for List, an Augusta native who waited a long time for his return to the Masters. On his first go, he shot 77-69 to comfortably make the cut and and perhaps he can draw on that experience, knowing that future opportunities may be difficult to come by.
List had played reasonably until dropping three shots over the final three holes and while confidence can't be high, I want to give him another go in a winnable group which includes one player who looks totally lost.
Posted at 0730 BST on 08/04/22
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