Tiger’s stellar back nine places him near leaders
Overcoming a slow start, the 38-year-old Woods shot a 3-under 69 and was tied for eighth among the early starters — three strokes behind leader Rory McIlroy. After bogeying the first two holes, Tiger played the last 16 in 5-under.
“It felt good to get back out there and mix it up with the guys,” Woods said.
Tiger insisted he felt a few first-tee jitters.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said. “I felt very calm. I had a good warmup session and felt very comfortable. Unfortunately, I got off to a horrific start, but I fought back.”
Paired with Angel Cabrera and Henrik Stenson, Woods stumbled at Nos. 1 and 2. At the par-4 first, he pushed his second shot from 193 yards into the right greenside bunker. Hitting from a poor, downhill lie, his third shot scooted over the green, but he did well to salvage bogey, making a five-foot putt.
At the par-4 second, Woods knocked his second shot to the back of the green and wound up with a long, downhill birdie putt. He ran his first putt six feet past the hole and missed coming back.
“I just blocked it,” Tiger said. “Bad speed on the first putt.”
It marked the first time in his major career that Tiger began a tournament with consecutive bogeys.
Looking focused and relaxed, Woods made a nice two-putt par from about 30 feet at the par-4 third. He made a nice par-save at the par-4 fourth, sinking an 8-footer, then made his first birdie at the par-5 fifth. At the fifth hole, Tiger came up just short of the green in two, popped his third shot over a fronting pot bunker 10 feet past the cup and sank the putt.
Woods recorded two-putt pars at the next four holes, narrowly missing birdie attempts at the par-4 eighth and par-3 ninth, to make the turn in 1-over 36.
Tiger was unable to birdie the 532-yard, par-5 10th, leaving his third shot 10 feet short of the hole to finish with a two-putt for a par. But the 14-time major winner redeemed himself at the par-4 11th, where he narrowly missed the green to the right with his approach shot, then buried an uphill putt from off the green for birdie.
“I had to play it back in my stance and hit down on the ball,” Woods said.
Tiger made it two in a row at the 447-yard, par-4 12th, where he hooked his approach shot from 185 yards to five feet below the hole.
“That was a sweet little 6-iron,” he said. “The wind was all over the place.”
Woods hit another pure 6-iron at the 181-yard, par-3 13th that stopped eight feet from the cup. Tiger would drop his third consecutive birdie putt.
At the 454-yard, par-4 14th, Tiger hit probably his worst drive of the day, hooking a fairway wood into the left rough. He caught a good break with the ball sitting up, but had a blind second shot over a mound and his second shot carried through the green. Woods had a long, touchy third shot that could have rolled off the green, but he wisely played well right of the hole and just missed a long par putt.
Tiger bounced back with a 15-foot birdie putt at the 168-yard, downhill, par-3 15th hole. He flushed a 7-iron and made a confident stoke with his putter after getting a nice read from caddie Joe LaCava.
In 2006, Woods won the Open Championship at Hoylake by two strokes over Chris DiMarco. The seaside links course situated near the Irish Sea was baked out from unseasonably warm weather and Tiger used his driver only once during the tournament.
Thursday, he pulled out driver for the first and only time at the 577-yard par-5 16th and found the short grass. From there, he crushed a 3-wood from 269 yards that came up short-right of the green, then nearly chipped in for eagle, settling for a tap-in birdie.
At the 458-yard, par-4 17th, Woods drove into the right rough, then hit a nice recovery shot from 237 yards that rolled onto the green, pin-high left. His 35-foot birdie try grazed the right side of the cup but he was pleased to escape with a par.
Looking to finish strong at the reachable-in-two 551-yard, par-5 18th, Tiger hit a 3-wood off the tee that trickled into the first cut of the right rough. Twice he backed off his second shot due to overzealous photographers, then crushed a 3-wood from 275 yards that trickled into a pot bunker just left of the green.
Woods drew an awkward stance and had to swing with his right leg outside the bunker. With little green to work with and the hole slanting away from him, he hit a great explosion shot that narrowly cleared the lip of the bunker and rolled 20 feet past the hole to finish with a two-putt for a par. That translated to a 4-under 33 on the back, with Tiger carding five birdies during a six-hole stretch.
For the day, Woods hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. His iron play was strong and most of his shots finished pin-high.
“It wasn’t that long ago,” Woods said when asked what it felt like to break 70. “I did win five times last year.”
As for his position, he called it a good start.
“I’m three back and I’m right there in the mix,” Tiger said.
More importantly, his surgically repaired back held up fine.
“The back is good,” he said. “I’m only going to get faster, stronger and more explosive.”
Woods tees off Friday at 9:05 a.m. ET with Cabrera and Stenson.
