CANADIANS IN THE HUNT
Strong showing at PGA event
Tiger Woods had a rough return to the PGA Tour on Thursday, but two Canadians found themselves in the top three after the first round.
Woods, playing in a PGA Tour event for the first time in 17 months, fell apart on the back nine of the South course at Torrey Pines and wound up with a 4-over 76, leaving him in danger of missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.
He was 11 shots behind Justin Rose, who shot a 65 on the shorter North Course.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was one stroke back of Rose after a 6-under 66. Hadwin is coming off a second-place finish at the Career Builder Challenge that saw him shoot a 13-under 59 in the third round.
“I don’t want to say it was as good as a 59, but it was pretty darn good,” Hadwin said.
Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch was tied for third at 5 under, Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., sat at 4 under and Nick Taylor, also of Abbotsford, was 3 under.
Woods didn’t hit a fairway after No. 7 and had to cope with thick rough he had not seen in some time. Woods said he had a hard time adjusting to the pace of play from being in threesomes for the first time since he last played a PGA Tour event at the Wyndham Championship in August 2015.
“Honestly, it was just weird waiting that much,” he said. “Not used to doing that. At home, I guess we’re flying a little quicker than this. It was just a different rhythm.”
At least he ended with a birdie and a smile, which looked to be more of a relief — not only for Woods, but for Jason Day and Dustin Johnson.
The star group sure didn’t play like one, with all three players frustrated at times by the bumpy poa annua greens in the afternoon. Day, the No. 1 player in the world, missed five putts from the fourfoot range and opened with a 73. Johnson made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 72.
None of them were ever better than 1 under at any point in the round.
Even so, the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open hasn’t had this much energy since Woods won the tournament in 2013 for the eighth time at Torrey Pines. The gallery covered every inch behind the ropes on the first hole, standing six-deep around the green.
Rose had a quiet time over on the North Course, which was renovated by Tom Weiskopf and has new and smooth greens. He had two eagles over his last five holes to take the lead by one shot over Hadwin.
Hadwin has the best score on the South Course, which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open.
Meanwhile, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had an opening-round 2-under 71 at the LPGA’s season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas Classic at Paradise Island, Bahamas. Brittany Lincicome was the leader with a tournament-record 9-under 64. Three others were two back.