Woods continues five-month slump

Tiger Woods has enjoyed a lot of success over the years at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, which had to make his performance on Thursday during the first round of the Zozo Championship all the more frustrating.

For the first time his PGA Tour career, Woods played three par-5 holes over par in the same round, leading to his worst score ever at Sherwood, a 4-over-par 76 that left him 12 strokes behind leader Sebastian Munoz and only a shot better than last place.

Woods did not speak with reporters afterward. Making just his eighth start of 2020, Woods, 44, finds himself well out of contention early, a common theme throughout the six events he has played since the restart in June following the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. The 76 is his worst in 49 rounds on the course.

Wayward tee shots at the 11th, 13th and 16th holes, Sherwood’s back-nine par-5s, led to a bogey, double bogey and bogey, respectively, and left him battling to pull his round together.

Woods has clearly wondered if he has played enough competitive rounds to be ready for his Masters defense next month. That is why he surprisingly disclosed on Tuesday that he was considering playing the Vivint Houston Open the week before the Masters. In 20 Masters appearances as a pro, Woods has never played a tournament the week before.

There did not appear to be any physical issues for Woods, who struggled with back stiffness last month at the U.S. Open, where he missed the cut. Sherwood is the former home to Woods’ annual World Challenge charity event and he played the tournament 12 times, winning five times and finishing second five times

EUROPEAN TOUR

Laurie Canter shot a career-best 12-under 60 to open up a four-shot lead after the first round of the Italian Open in Brescia. The Englishman registered an eagle and 10 birdies in a bogey-free round that tied for the lowest score to par ever recorded on the European Tour. It was also the lowest round at the Italian Open since it became part of the tour in 1972.

“It feels great. The score, days like that, the back nine there, everything’s gone in,” the 30-year-old Canter said.

Dean Burmester of South Africa and Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark were tied for second, a shot ahead of a group of five. Canter is looking for his first European Tour win, with a second-place finish his best result to date.

LPGA

Danielle Kang leads the Race to CME Globe and, at No. 5 in the world, is the top-ranked player in the LPGA Drive On Championship-Lake Reynolds Oconee. She showed why Thursday in Greensboro,

North Carolina, after shooting a 7-under 65 for a share of the first-round lead with Jennifer Song.

“I think I know the golf course a little bit better,’’ Kang said. “I’ve only played it once technically so it’s still very new, but I just tried to work on some pace drills on the greens and figure out the type of grass around here. I feel good about today.’’

The event is the second tournament added to the schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down women’s golf for five months. The other “Drive On’’ tournament was in Toledo, Ohio, in late July and marked the return. Kang won that event at Inverness and followed with a victory the next week in the LPGA Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.