Getty Images
With only one putt offline, Tiger was very pleased with his work on the greens.
TIGER WOODS: It was a good start. I was 4-under through 7. Got off to a quick start there. And I hit the ball well all day. I was just lacking a little bit of pace on the greens coming home. I was just-- every putt I hit was on line, except for the one I hit on 12. But every putt was right on my line, they were dying off the front of the lip. So I needed to hit the putts a little bit firmer.
Q: On 15 were you just trying to get it out there or did you just get greedy?
TIGER WOODS: No, I was just trying to hit the ball 80 yards in the front. There's a bunker right in front of me on the other side of the hill. That was 60 to carry that. I figured 80 in the air would have been good, and I left myself with a chance to get to the green. Unfortunately it didn't grab just the hosel, it grabbed the shaft and just turned it down.
Q: 13 and 14 fairways, today I think I you hit two drivers, does that sound right?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know.
Q: Is that sticking with your game plan? Was that the plan all along?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I'm playing the spots. So whatever the spots are. And some holes depends-- we've had two different winds here that I played. I played practice rounds on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and they were completely different clubs based on the winds. And I was just playing to my little sections and I had my game plan to those sections.
Q: Did you hit driver on 7?
TIGER WOODS: I did.
Q: On 15?
TIGER WOODS: 15? No, I didn't.
Q: Just hit one driver?
TIGER WOODS: No, I hit one on 2. Might have been somewhere else, but I think that was it.
Q: Early on there was no wind. Is this as easy as you've seen this golf course?
TIGER WOODS: It was. It was pretty soft. The wind wasn't blowing, and we're backing golf balls up. That's something we just don't see. On the first hole is a perfect indication; I hit a 5-iron straight at it, and it rolled out eight feet. I can't remember the last time it does that on links golf course. So we knew that we needed at least to get off to a quick start on that front nine, and I figured a couple under would have been good. But I look up on the board and Scotty is going pretty low and so is everyone else. I felt I had to make a few more and I was able to.
Q: Your overall thoughts of your game today, your assessment?
TIGER WOODS: I felt like I played well today. I really hit it well. And as I said, I was very close on making a few more putts. Every ball was starting right on my line. I was very pleased with that. I've just got to hit the putts a little harder.
Q: Was there any chance of getting if you're in that deep rough?
TIGER WOODS: No, I was just-- I had the face open. As I said, I was just trying to hit it 80 in the air. I had the face open but it snagged it and just went left.
Q: (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: You have to. It's 80-- I mean to carry it 80 yards, it's still-- people don't realise how deep some spots are. Some spots are pretty benign. But then there are a few spots where it's pretty deep out there.
Q: That one was deep?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah.
Q: Other than that it didn't seem like you came close to missing a fairway. Obviously was it where you were looking or were you wanting to?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I felt like I had pretty good control. I was shaping the golf ball both ways. Sometimes I rode the wind, sometimes I held it against it. But as I said I was playing to my spots. I had certain sections I wanted to put the ball in, and I did that all day.
Q: Did the wind come up a little bit more in the afternoon?
TIGER WOODS: Not really. Not really. It's pretty benign out there. Maybe only about five more miles an hour. But it's-- at the most it's a club wind. At the most. But that's only if it puffs up. But other than that it's usually less than that.
Q: You had 4-under so quickly, and as well as you hit the ball today, do you come away with this course thinking you should have had more?
TIGER WOODS: No, I'm very pleased with what I did today. As I said I only hit one putt that was off line. But every putt was right on my start lines. I just needed to hit the putts a little bit harder. These greens are not quick. With the amount of rain that they've had on these things, they're not very fast. So I've got to make that adjustment.
Q: (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: I think that's the forecast. But the forecast hasn't been right all week. Nice job to have, huh?
Q: (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, we've got a long way to go. We've got three more rounds. And I got off to a positive start today. And as I said, we've got three more rounds. We've got a lot of golf to play.
Q: Would you look at the quality of the names that took advantage today? This is as good a starting field as you've seen, maybe?
TIGER WOODS: I only saw a couple of guys. I saw Scotty and Graeme and Ernie.
Q: Six major winners in the top eight.
TIGER WOODS: There you go.