Kearney’s 2-shot lead at BMW International Open

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jordan Spieth has taken control at Augusta National. The 2015 Masters champion birdied five straight holes beginning at the 13th Thursday, pushing his score to 7 under before a wayward drive produced a bogey-5 at the 18th. Spieth carded a 6-under 66 and held a two-shot lead over Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar. Spieth already has three major titles on his resume, even though he won’t turn 25 until late July. He’s certainly off to a good start in his quest for No. 4. Finau made five birdies over 12 holes in the opening round and got to 4 under. He did it a day after dislocating his left ankle celebrating a hole-in-one in the Par-3 Tournament and popping it back into place. X-rays were negative, and Finau was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Tiger Woods shot a 1-over 73 in the opening round, failing to make up any ground on the four par 5s. Woods has feasted on Augusta National’s longest holes over the years, but parred each of them in his return to golf’s first major. He says, “That was the difference in the round.” The 42-year-old Woods has been away from golf for much of the last few years because of his four back surgeries. The Masters is his first major since playing the PGA Championship in August 2015. He was back in the Masters field for the first time in 1,089 days. Woods says he “definitely didn’t score as well as I played,” noting that he has to be better on the par-5s. The four-time Masters champion is far from concerned. He’s typically been a slow starter at Augusta, having shot under par just once (a 68 in 2010) in the opening round. Woods says, “This is a very bunched leaderboard, and by the end of the week, it’s going to be really crowded.” Meanwhile, defending champion Sergio Garcia made history — not the good kind. Garcia carded a 13 on the par-5 15th after hitting five shots into the water in front of the green. He matched the highest single-hole score in Masters history. Tom Weiskopf had a 13 at No. 12 in 1980 and Tommy Nakajima did it at No. 13 in 1978.

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