AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods split the fairway with his opening shot Thursday, confidently plucking his tee from the ground before his ball had even landed, and set off with grim-faced determination for a steamy trek around Augusta National.

The rest of his day at the Masters was mostly just grim.

There were two wicked lip-outs on the front side. A pitch shot dumped in a greenside bunker on the back. Some bad luck off the tee at 18, which left him with a painfully awkward stance. And on just about every hole, a pronounced limp – the evidence of the crash on a suburban Los Angeles road just over two years ago that crushed bones in his right leg and ankle.

By the time Woods struggled through the finishing hole, failing to get up and down from another bunker, he had shot 74 – good enough to stay in contention to play the weekend but hardly good enough to actually contend. He has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional.

“Most of the guys are going low today. This was the day to do it,” Woods said. “Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be a little bit better, a little bit sharper, and kind of inch my way through it.”

Or at least hobble through it.

It was the worst opening round for Woods at the Masters since 2005, when he followed a 74 with 65-66-71 to capture the fourth of his five green jackets. Recent history suggests that duplicating that comeback will be tough, though: He shot 78-78 on the weekend last year, and is now a combined 16 over for his last four rounds at Augusta National.

The four consecutive rounds over par is Woods’ longest such streak since first driving down Magnolia Lane in 1995, when he was an amateur.

“Today was the opportune time to get the round under par,” he said, “and I didn’t do that.”

Woods actually outdrove playing partners Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele at the first hole and was cruising along until the third, when he caught a pitch shot high on his club face and left it short of the green. He ran his next chip past the hole, missed a slippery downhill putt and walked off with his first bogey of the day.

Then came the lip-outs: a vicious one at the fifth, the same hole on which Woods began using his driver as a walking stick, and another at the seventh, which left him 3 over and searching for some positive vibes.

They came briefly with a birdie at the eighth, only to dissipate when Woods dumped his pitch into the bunker at No. 11 and made bogey. He looked like he might catch momentum again with a long birdie putt at the 15th and an approach the he stuck close for birdie at the 16th, only to watch a near-perfect drive at the 18th come to rest too close to a fairway bunker.

Woods tried several stances before planting his left foot in the grass, high above him, and digging his right in the sand. He proceeded to send a line drive from there into the greenside bunker, losing his balance and hopping away on his left leg.

“Hop on the left leg is fine,” he said. “If I did it on the other one, not so fine.”

Woods splashed out of that bunker, missed the par putt and began his halting walk to the clubhouse to sign his card.

“I didn’t give myself very good looks,” he said. “Need to do a better job of that going forward.”

Indeed, the round was hardly vintage Woods, yet the feel around Augusta National was unmistakably classic.

Patrons stacked four-, five- and sometimes six-deep for a chance to see him, then walked quickly ahead – running being strictly forbidden – to find a prime spot to see him again. They clapped politely when he’d tap in for par, roared like the old days for his three birdies, and showered him with adulation when his round was over.

At one point, after waiting an hour for Woods to come through and then watching him play an approach shot from the fairway right in front of them, one gentleman turned to his buddy and said: “Well, we can go home now.”

AUGUSTA NATIONAL has taken another surprising step toward modernization: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when Rory McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway.

Then, Max Homa later joined the fun, making a live guest appearance during his round.

CBS, which is producing the Masters, first broke out the technology at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Trevor Immelman was in the booth and held a Q-and-A with Homa as he played the 13th hole. Homa went on to win.

NBC also did the walk-and-talk with a player during the six weeks leading to the Masters.

But the Masters?

There was McIlroy, going so far as to tell viewers his yardage and what club he would be hitting into the ninth green.

McIlroy said it wasn’t a distraction because the interview was conducted through an earpiece rather than having someone place a microphone in front of him as he walked, so it felt more natural.

“It’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here,” McIlroy said.

Homa, no stranger to putting himself out there on social media, is in favor of the move.

“It does feel like that’s a good way to maybe gain some perspective for the fans to enjoy golf a little bit easier,” Homa said.

MICKELSON’S NEW LOOK: Those who haven’t been paying attention to LIV Golf probably were a little shocked when they got their first look at a trimmed down Phil Mickelson this week. The three-time Masters champion said he’s lost 25 pounds.

“I stopped eating food, that was a big help,” Mickelson said. “I also lost muscle, so I had to start lifting, and I’ve been lifting and slowly have been getting my speed and strength back to where I need it to be.”

Mickelson said he is going to continue down what he considers a healthier path.

“Some of these guys out here today, how far and how fast they’re able to swing the club, it’s really amazing,” Mickelson said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re going to win. You still have to hit the shots and manage your way around the game, manage your game around the course. But I’ve got to be in shape to be able to have a speed that allows me to compete.”

BENNETT GOES LOW: U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett was the only amateur to break par Thursday, shooting a bogey-free round of 68 to match playing partner and defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.

Bennett was just two strokes off Ken Venturi’s record for low round by an amateur, set in 1956. Venturi would take the lead into Sunday, when he shot 80 and finished one shot behind Jack Burke Jr.

Bennett, a two-time All-American at Texas A&M, made a long birdie putt at the first hole. He added a chip-in for eagle at the second, then another long birdie putt at the sixth. He made par the rest of the way to the clubhouse.

WITHDRAWALS: Will Zalatoris who tied for sixth at the Masters, withdrew before ever stepping on the course.

The world’s No. 8 player was runner-up at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open last year before his first PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, the following week at the BMW Championship, Zalatoris herniated two disks in his back on a tee shot and wound up missing the rest of the season.

The LIV tour’s Kevin Na also withdrew after shooting 40 on the front nine.