Masters 2019: Tiger Woods escapes trees with brilliant shot

April 12 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods rebounded from an uneven start in the first round of the 2019 Masters tournament, highlighted by a remarkable moonshot over the trees and onto the green on the back nine.

Woods had just made a two-putt birdie to move to 2-under before arriving at Augusta National Golf Club's 14th tee. The star golfer hooked his drive into the left trees 137 yards away from the pin. Due to large tree branches and the location of the green on the left side of the 14th hole, his view was significantly obstructed.

Woods opted against the safe approach and chose to shoot over the trees. His wedge shot soared over the grove of trees and landed softly on the green, 25 feet from the cup.

"I've seen him hit that shot a million times," Woods' caddie, Joe LaCava, told reporters. "But still, you've got to pull it off. Under the circumstances, it was a hell of a shot."

The four-time Masters champion sank the curling 25-foot putt for his second straight birdie, putting him in a tie for the lead early in the first round. He bogeyed at the par-4 17th hole and drifted to 11th place at 2-under 66 after strong performances from current co-leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

Woods tees off Friday at 1:49 p.m. ET with Haotong Li and Jon Rahm in the second round.