Four-way tie for lead as O’Hair changes course

Woods can’t keep his momentum as playoffs begin

Paramus, N.J. — Tiger Woods failed to carry any momentum he had from his last tournament into the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Same for Sean O'Hair, only that was good news for him Thursday in The Northern Trust.

O'Hair missed the cut last week and saw his FedEx Cup standing slip to No. 121, meaning he has to play well this week or his season is over. His immediate goal is to advance to the third stage of events because the BMW Championship is at Aronimink outside Philadelphia, where O'Hair is a member.

He drilled a 3-wood from 284 yards to 6 feet for eagle on No. 3. He hammered another 3-wood on the par-5 17th to 10 feet, settling for a two-putt birdie. That carried O'Hair to a 5-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Kevin Tway, Jamie Lovemark and Vaughn Taylor.

"I'm obviously very disappointed that I'm not in a bet-

better position, but I’m kind of in charge of my destiny,” O’Hair said. “If I play good golf, I’m just going to work into the next week.”

Woods, playing for the first time since his runner-up finish at the PGA Championship, had a pair of birdies, a pair of bogeys, a lot of pars and a 71. He was five shots behind and in a tie for 60th. After a rough start off the tee, Woods wound up hitting nine of 14 fairways. He just never got it close enough for good looks at birdie.

“Just didn’t have the situations where I had the full club and I could go ahead and take a rip at it and start being aggressive and going after these flags,” Woods said. “I kept having to play a little defensive because I was taking more club, trying to shape it and take spin off. One of those days.”

Woods is back in the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in five years, and it was his first time at Ridgewood Country Club since 2010. Thousands came to watch him play, and they heard plenty of cheers from the group behind him.

Dustin Johnson rimmed out a 6-iron on the par-3 sixth for one of his seven birdies to offset a triple bogey for a 67. U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka ran off four birdies and an eagle for his 67. FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas had four birdies in his round of 69.

Johnson could tell his 6-iron was close to perfect from the flight of the shot, where it landed and the reaction of the fans behind the par-3 sixth green as the ball rolled around left edge of the cup.

Or were they cheering because Woods teed off on the hole ahead of them?

“I was kind of debating whether they were yelling for me or him,” Johnson said with a smile.