Tiger Woods

Tiger leaves the tee

Tiger Woods leaves the 9th green after his birdie. Woods hit a spectacular fairway shot from behind some trees to land it close to the pin and sank his birdie. Woods shot 68 on the first round to be tied for seventh place at four under par.
By Michael Madrid, USA TODAY


Tiger Woods returned to competitive golf Thursday at the Masters after a five-month hiatus, and both his game and the reception from the crowd made it seem like old times.

Woods shot 4-under 68 in the first round, his best first round of golf ever at the Masters, and the crowds all around.

Fans applauded Woods as he made the walk from the practice range to the first tee, and greeted him warmly at the tee. "Make us proud!" one yelled.

It was much the same reaction on every other hole. Galleries that were one or two deep 20 minutes earlier swelled to mob scenes when Woods and his group arrived. No sooner did he finish one hole than a sea of people was on the move, eager to get in position on the next one.

They applauded his good shots, groaned at the bad ones and shouted encouraging cheers.

"It was unbelievable," Woods said. "I mean, all day. I haven't heard them cheer this loud in all my years here."

Alpaca (and Career) Saving with Matthew Modine

By ALYSIA GRAY PAINTER

Alpacas? Sweet. Sweet faces, soft hair. We just want to say that up front. We're sweet on those fuzzy camelids. And when we say we've been laughing about the name of the new play that opened on September 8th at the Geffen Playhouse -- "Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas" -- we of course are not laughing at alpacas.

Well, sometimes, when they're chewing. Because they're so cute and comical.

Nor are we laughing at Mr. Modine. "Vision Quest"? You adore that movie, too. But the whole idea behind the new play from Blair Singer is inspiring the guffaws. The plot: A once-famous actor who has seen his star set takes up a cause to return him to the headlines. That cause: the alpaca. The star: Matthew Modine.

Is there a bit of winking going on here? Why yes, in fact. There is.

There are few subjects riper for satire than celebrities and their various causes. In some cases, the cause is brought to the forefront of our minds by being attached to a big name, which is a good thing. But we've all wondered, on occasion, okay, frequently, about the famous person who uses his soapbox to further his fortunes.

And, before we go. Stars starring in things as sly versions of themselves: love. "Being John Malkovich" with John Malkovich and "Cold Souls" with Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti are two examples. We want more, playwrights/screenwriters of the world. More!

"Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas" is at the Geffen Playhouse from September 8th-October 18th.

Kathy Griffin opens up about botched liposuction to look like Jennifer Aniston

BY Sherryl Connelly

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Kathy Griffin warns that women who undergo plastic surgery trying to look like Jennifer Aniston may live to regret it. She did.

In her just out "Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin," the comedian includes a photo of a procedure that is "so heinous you can't even believe it. And it's a picture of my botched liposuction that looks like a CSI crime-scene photo."

Talking to CNN's Campbell Brown yesterday, Griffin said that she wants "women to know when you get liposuction trying to be Jennifer Aniston, this is what it really looks like."

The Emmy award-winning Bravo TV star has undergone numerous plastic surgeries.

Now 48, she first had her nose done at 26.

She subsequently spent years obsessing over her appearance.

"I was on a television show and thought I could be thinner, better and happier," said Griffin, who starred as Brooke Shields' sidekick in the 90s series "Suddenly Susan."

Now 115 lbs at 5 foot 3 inches tall, Griffin says she still isn't beyond picking at her imperfections.
"Look, I am always going to want to be Jennifer Aniston, maybe more than Jennifer Aniston wants to be Jennifer Aniston," she said.

Still, she told Time.com, "What I can't figure out is why I wasted time worrying about my looks. I am a comedian. I'm not on the runway in Milan. Believe it or not, people don't come to see me really thinking I'm going to look like Jennifer Aniston."