Tiger Woods saw another solid effort unravel before the finish line as he carded a 1-over-par 72 in the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday.
A bogey-bogey finish left Woods 10 shots off the lead of Xander Schauffele, who finished with a 9-under 62.
Woods began his round on the back nine at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., the site of the second of his four PGA Championship victories 24 years ago. He made the turn on Thursday in 1-over 37 and got back to even par with a birdie on the par-3 third hole, his 12th of the day.
Woods got under par for the first — and only — time with another birdie on the seventh, but promptly gave it back with a three-putt on the par-3 eighth hole. His par putt on the ninth slid right of the cup for another three-putt bogey.
“It was a grind today, certainly,” Woods told ESPN after the round. “I didn’t drive it particularly well all day. I struggled with the speed of the greens being a little quicker today. I smoked a few past the hole and three-whooped the last two holes.”
For the day, Woods hit 9 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens and converted all three sand save opportunities. He also made 93 feet worth of putts, but it was the final two holes that left a sour taste.
“It wasn’t the way that I like to finish off rounds,” he said. “But a long way to go, and we’ll see what happens.”
Woods is competing for the first time since making the cut at the Masters last month. An 82-77 finish at Augusta National over the weekend left the 15-time major champion last among those who made the cut.
He’s hoping for a better outcome this week, but will first need to make the 36-hole cut. Woods, who missed the cut at Valhalla in 2014 while dealing with back issues and has battled back from serious knee and leg issues, said it helps that he has more time between rounds as he’ll play in the afternoon wave on Friday.
“It is what it is,” Woods said of how his body felt after Thursday’s round. “It’s competition. And getting out there and competing, it’s a long grind out there.
“I just wish I would have been a little bit more consistent with my driving today and done a little bit better on the greens.”
–Field Level Media
