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Tiger converted 16 of 17 putts inside 10 feet, contributing to a sharp round.
PARAMUS, N.J. -- Playing solid golf from start to finish, Tiger Woods fired a season-best, 6-under-par 65 Thursday at Ridgewood Country Club in the opening round of The Barclays, the first of four PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup. That earned him a share of the lead with Vaughn Taylor.
"It felt great," Woods said after snapping a steak of 11 consecutive rounds in the 70s.
The 65 was his best score since a third-round 62 last year at the BMW Championship and was his second sub-70 round in his last 18 starts.
"Absolutely," Woods said, when asked if Thursday's round was his best of the year. "Not even close. I had that one stretch of nine holes at the U.S. Open on Saturday, but that was it. Today, I did it for all 18."
The keys to his round? Woods hit 13 of 14 of the rain-softened fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. His iron play was sharp, and he used 27 putts, making 16 of 17 inside 10 feet.
"I just played today," said Woods. "I went out and played -- made a few tweaks on the range with my swing. Started off warming up not very good at all. I was hitting it all over the lot but made a couple of tweaks and found what I have been working on, and I just told [caddie] Steve [Williams] I'm going to be committed to it all day."
Woods said recent practice sessions with instructor Sean Foley are starting to click.
"It's a different shift from what I was at working with Hank [Haney]," said Woods. "So my first time I put it in play was at the PGA. It's not too often you talk to a new coach and work with a new coach right there at a major championship. But that's what I did.
"But I've had a week and a half of prep time before I teed off here. So at least I knew when I warmed up today -- those shots -- I knew what was the cause of it and just had to work myself through, and I did it. It feels good to have the things I'm working on starting to feel more natural."
For the first time in his pro career, Woods played in the first group on Thursday with Cameron Beckman and Troy Matteson. He opened with a birdie at the 380-yard, par-4 first hole, hitting a wedge from 100 yards to 14 feet and buried the uphill putt.
"It felt good," he said of the early tee time. "The greens were perfect."
With players benefiting from the lift, clean and place rule, Woods racked up another birdie at the 588-yard, par-5 third hole, the only fairway he missed. Unable to reach the green in two, he played for position and spun his third shot from 161 yards to six feet and converted the putt.
At the 291-yard, par-4 fifth, Woods drove the green and two-putted for a birdie from 14 feet, leaving his eagle attempt just short. He added another at the 447-yard, par-4 seventh, curling in an 18-foot downhill putt, then parred eight and nine to make the turn in 4-under 31.
Following pars at 10 and 11, Woods sustained his lone bogey of the day at the 475-yard, par-4 12th. He drove accurately but hit his approach shot into the left greenside bunker. Woods blasted over the green, then nearly chipped in for par, the ball catching the left side of the cup.
Woods rebounded nicely with a birdie at the 626-yard, par-5 13th. Again, he laid up short with his second shot, then nestled his third shot from 96 yards to within six feet and holed the putt.
At the 417-yard, par-4 14th, Woods almost holed out his approach shot from 191 yards, the ball stopping just inside three feet, where he polished off the birdie putt.
Woods parred the next three holes, then finished strong. At the 470-yard, par-4 18th, he hit his second shot from 167 yards seven feet above the cup and rolled home the left-to-right birdie putt, giving a mini-fist pump with his right hand.
"For us being first off with fresh greens, everybody in our group was making putts on the front nine," said Woods. "The back nine is a little different for us. A little bit more bouncy, the guys in the afternoon today are going to have a little more of an interesting time than we did, certainly. You had to get it today especially with the wind being down early, and then we had fresh greens, so it was good to be out early."
After struggling on the par-5s most of the year, Woods showed big improvement on the three at Ridgewood, playing them 2-under.
Woods needs a good finish this week to secure a spot in next week's Deutsche Bank Championship.
"It was important," he said of his strong opening round. "I have to play my way into next week. I have to play well this week in order to advance, and this is a good start."