RORY RIGHT ON TIGER’S TAIL..
Mcilroy feeling bang in form as he plans to hunt down joint leader Woods in Atlanta
TIGER WOODS grabbed a share of the lead in brilliant style in the opening round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Woods holed from 25 feet for an eagle on the 18th at East Lake to complete a five-under par 65 and join Ryder Cup team-mate Rickie Fowler at the top of the leaderboard.
After three-putting the first hole for a bogey, Woods recovered to birdie the fifth and sixth and picked up further shots on the 12th and 14th before thrilling the large crowds with his grandstand finish.
The 42-year-old has recorded six top-10 finishes this season but has not tasted victory since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods, who has not featured in the season-ending Tour Championship since 2013, told Sky Sports: “After the three-wiggle at one, I played my way back into it and hung in there and made two good putts at five and six that basically turned the whole round around.
“I know how to play this golf course, I know the angles, I just haven’t seen the greens at this speed though. This is something different. They are perfectly smooth but man are they quick.
“Our game plan was being more defensive but when you have a green light, just absolutely go for it.”
Rory Mcilroy had held the early lead after carding four birdies in the first six holes, but eventually had to settle for a three-under-par 67.
“There was a lot of good in there,” the 2016 champion said after a round containing seven birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the 12th.
“I drove the ball great, I put the ball in play which you really need to with this Bermuda rough, and I hit a lot of good iron shots and wedges, the stuff that I’ve been working on the past few weeks.
“The game is trending, it’s going in the right direction.
“I feel like 67 is the worst I could have shot today which obviously bodes well for the rest of the week.” Meanwhile, Australian Lucas Herbert carded a sparkling eightunder-par firstround 63 to take a one-shot lead in the Portugal Masters on the European Tour as Sergio Garcia warmed up for next week’s Ryder Cup with an opening 66.
Herbert struck four birdies and an eagle to turn in six-under before adding two more birdies on to overtake early pace-setters Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell.
The English duo were a stroke behind the Australian in a tie for third place alongside Ireland’s Shane Lowry (inset).
Garcia, named as a wildcard in the European Ryder Cup team, shared sixth place in a group of 10 players on five under par.
The Spaniard made seven birdies in total and despite bogeys at the third and seventh holes, Garcia was pleased not to show more signs of ring rust after taking a month-long break from golf.