Hazard pay for Tiger
Woods recovers after rough start
NOTEBOOK
NORTON — Pulling a ball into the hazard was not the way anyone envisioned Tiger Woods starting his return to TPC Boston.
His opening drive went into the staked-off area on the left side of No. 10. He wound up making bogey on the hole as part of an inauspicious start that had him 3-over through just seven holes.
He rebounded and climbed back to finish at 1-over-par 72, tied for 57th and 7 shots behind firstround leader Justin Rose.
“I was 3-over early and didn’t have a whole lot going on, but I hung in there,” Woods said. “And 18, 1, 2, 4, there’s some birdieable holes there, if I could play those 2-, 3- or even 4-under par, I could turn this whole round around, and I made a few birdies there, which was nice.
“Couldn’t quite keep the momentum going throughout the front side, my back nine. Felt if I could have kept the momentum going, I could have finished under par for the day.”
Of those holes with birdie potential, he only picked up one, which came on the short par-4 fourth hole.
He also bogeyed No. 13, when his bunker shot from the left of the green went skidding through into the rough on the other side, and No.16 when he shortsided himself at the par 3 and took a big cut for a flop shot only to have it not get out of the rough.
Woods finally got a circle on the card at No.17 from 91 ⁄2 feet. He dropped a shot at No. 6, missing a 7-footer, but immediately got it back with a 2-putt birdie at the par-5 seventh.
Help from a friend
After hitting his drive in the fairway, a double bogey was not what Marc Leishman imagined putting on his scorecard to start the morning. But that was the result after he tugged his second shot into the pond to the left of the green.
The Australian immediately bounced back, nearly knocking it in for an ace at the 11th. The double was the only blemish on his scorecard and he is part of an eight-man logjam at 3-under 68, 3 shots off the lead.
He had some help along the way as his second at No.6 was on the edge of the fairway bunker and his shot headed toward out of bounds when it kicked off someone in the gallery, then rolled onto the green. Leishman drained a 57-foot birdie putt.
After the putt, he turned in the direction of the person his shot bounced off, pointed at him and gave him a thumb’s up before flipping him the ball.
“A bit of comedy there,” Leishman said. “I saw him backtracking and running backward and I guess he tripped over and hit the sole of his shoe and (the ball) bounced back on the green. That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me. It’s nice when it does happen.”
Leishman finished third last year and says the course suits his game.
“I really enjoy this place. There’s some room and you can play it into the fairways,” he said. “I guess I enjoy that about it. Generally, it’s pretty firm here and a bit of wind. I like playing in the wind and firm conditions.”
Par 5s are heaven
Peter Uihlein of Marion took advantage of the par 5s, with birdies on all three helping him to shoot a 2-under 69 that in a tie for 16th, 4 shots back. After starting 2-over through five holes, Uihlein got going with a chip-in birdie at the par-3 16th. In addition to a birdie at each of the par 5s, he added one at the driveable fourth, getting up and down from the bunker for a 3.
He finished his day with a bogey at No. 9 but was tied with 16 others including Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Paul Casey.
Worcester-born Scott Stallings is at 2-over in a tie for 70th. He had two birdies and four bogeys.
Numbers tell a story
The 213-yard par-3 third hole was the hardest in relation to par at 3.258 with just three birdies there yesterday. The fourth hole, which played just 279 yards, was the easiest at 3.619. There were two eagles and only eight bogeys. On a day when players had difficulty with the wind, it played a shade above par at 71.144. The front, with its two par 5s was slightly below at 35.763 while the back was slightly above at 35.381.