Rory sees Tiger’s signs of promise
ALONG Sunset Boulevard on a picture perfect morning, Tiger Woods came up with his own version of the good, the bad and the downright ugly in the first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera in California yesterday.
While playing partner Rory McIlroy recovered from a rough opening nine to post a respectable level-par 71, Woods slipped the wrong side of the regulation number following a late bogey for a 72.
There was plenty to encourage the 14-time major champion, however, not least the fact there’s clearly no issues with his back, as he took on a number of shots from awkward lies in the rough.
McIlroy was certainly impressed. ‘You can see his back is now allowing him to do what he needs to do, and there’s no doubt in my mind Tiger’s going to make some noise this year,’ he said.
It was the first time in almost three years the pair had walked the fairways together in competition, and not surprisingly there was no lack of interest. Not even a 722am tee time in the city voted the worst for traffic in the world could deter a large crowd from gathering at the start.
How they were rewarded. Starting at the 10th, McIlroy looked in trouble when he missed the tiny green with his approach. The Northern Irishman played it to perfection, though, as it dropped into the hole for a birdie.
There was more drama at the 11th as well, as a characteristically wayward drive from Woods clattered into a Eucalyptus tree and refused to drop to earth.
Because he could not identify it, Woods had to declare the ball lost and trudge back to play his third from the tee. A par five with his second ball added up to a double bogey seven on his scorecard.
It was symptomatic of an untidy front nine from Tiger, where his exemplary short game kept his score within the bounds of respectability. On the back nine, both he and McIlroy got their act together to keep the early leader — American journeyman Tom Hoge — who shot 67, within sight.
‘It was all right, overall,’ said Tiger. ‘Obviously it wasn’t the best of starts with the tree keeping my ball but I hit it much better on my back nine.’ Graeme McDowell opened with a promising 69, while playing partners Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson, in the other star group out during the morning, both shot 70.
McDowell said afterwards he’s hoping for improvement after a tough few years which have seen his world ranking drop to 219 from a 2010 high of sixth.
Pádraig Harrington matched McIlroy’s level-par 71 after a round which began with an eagle on the par-five first, while Shane Lowry signed for a 73 following four bogeys and two birdies.