2013 Masters Leaderboard: Tiger Woods moves to 2-under after 9 holes

After five straight pars to start his 2013 Masters, Tiger Woods finally entered the red on the par-3 sixth hole at Augusta National Golf Club and is now 2-under through nine holes. It was a bit of a wild start for Woods, who yanked his drive on No. 2 into the leg of a fan and then followed it up by dotting a spectator’s beer cup on No. 3. The wayward drive on No. 2 led to a missed birdie opportunity on the par-5, one of the easier holes on the course. On No. 3, he saved par by getting up-and-down, but it’s not a day to be piling up pars.

The stretch of pars came to an end on No. 6, however, as Woods dropped his shot from the elevated tee right onto the green, cleaning up with one-putt for the birdie. While he missed the chance on the par-5 second hole, he took advantage of the more difficult par-5 eighth by carding his second birdie of the day. Woods put himself in position for the birdie with a bombed drive in the fairway, and then continued his Augusta par-5 dominance with a tidy four.

The birdies put Woods at 2-under, just two shots back of David Lynn, who is the clubhouse leader with a 68. Woods is in perfect position and appears to be settling in after the shaky start. It’s only the first round, so he doesn’t need to be in the top 10 at the end of the day, but getting under par to start the week is his most common path to major victories. Avoiding bogey during those mishits in the first few holes is in form with how Woods has picked up his wins this year, covering up his misses and holding onto par. He has only 11 putts through his first nine holes.

Tiger finished up his first nine with another par on No. 9 to go out in 34. It will be shock if he doesn’t add to that 2-under number, particularly with Nos. 13 and 15 ahead of him. Here’s a current snapshot of the leaderboard, along with some other notables:

• Does Tiger need a green jacket to be “back”?

• Cute kid gifs, holes-in-one highlight Par 3 Contest

• Arnold Palmer is still cooler than you

• Masters picks and predictions

• How all 94 players earned entry into the most exclusive major in golf

• Bubba breaks down at his Masters press conference