AUGUSTA – Georgia’s Kevin Kisner finally got to play a competitive round of golf with Tiger Woods. And while it wasn’t for a Masters green jacket on a Sunday, a blustery, cold Saturday afternoon was good enough.
“It was great,” said Kisner, who sits in a tie for 26th at the moment. “That’s the guy you want to be playing with on Saturday at Augusta. Obviously, neither one of us had a great day, but I’m just glad he’s back out here with us.”
Kisner bested the golfing legend 75 strokes to 78 on Saturday. Both are well back of third-round leader Scottie Scheffler.
That Kisner could have played 16 PGA Tour seasons without ever getting paired with Woods is a bit of an anomaly. He said he has always wanted to, mainly because it usually means one is playing well.
But in this year’s case, they were conjoined because Kisner has been grinding his way across a golf course he does not believe suits him particularly well, while Woods is fighting through a leg injury in his first competitive action since a February, 2021, car accident.
“I didn’t ask him much about his leg,” Kisner said. “We were trying to keep it pretty light out there. I’m sure his leg is hurting. I mean, I’m hurting and I’m healthy.”
Kisner actually was working on a pretty good round before he made triple-bogey from the face of a bunker in front of No. 17. Then he parred the difficult 18th hole while as Woods tripled.
Considering the frigid conditions and Woods’ circumstances, Kisner was packing it away as a good day.
“Obviously your body doesn’t move as well, and the ball feels like you’re hitting concrete,” Kisner said. “You just have no feel. It’s a place you need a lot of feel around the greens. So 50-55 (degrees) and blowing 20 is not a lot of fun.”
Kisner was second among five Georgia alums playing in the 86th Masters. Hudson Swafford had the low round of the day (73) and sits at 3-over. Sepp Straka and Russell Henley eached carded 76s and are at 6- and 7-over, respectively. Bubba Watson tripled his first hole of the day and limped in with a 78 to head to Sunday at 8-over.
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