Tiger in the hunt with a 68, thanks to putting
Tiger Woods’ body language, as it often does, told the story during Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship at Harding Park.
Woods left himself a 6foot par putt with a nice, long bunker shot on No. 14, his fifth hole of the day. He started to walk after his putt, clearly confident it would disappear into the hole — and then suddenly stopped and grimaced when the ball rudely spun out.
Later, on No. 18, Woods faced more than 20 feet for par after a poor chip shot. He promptly buried the putt, punctuated by a quick, vigorous, thatwassweet fist pump.
Woods ultimately shot 2underpar 68 in the first major championship in Harding Park history and the first major anywhere in 13 months. He made five birdies, three bogeys and found himself tied for 17th after half the field (78 players) completed its round.
Jason Day took the early lead by shooting 5under 65. Nine players, including major champions Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose, lurked one stroke back at 66.
“I thought anything in the red would be good,” Woods said, referring to a belowpar score. “I was able to do it. I didn’t think there would be that many guys at 4under or better, but the greens were soft.”
Woods, seeking the 16th major title of his career — and 83rd PGA Tour victory, which would break a tie with Sam Snead for the alltime record — kept himself in the hunt. That was impressive, because he hit only seven of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens.
That didn’t prove costly because Woods made a handful of parsaving putts, as he has throughout his career. None was a better example than the one at No. 18, after a wayward tee shot over the neck of Lake Merced left him in a difficult position.
“I think making the big par putts is what enables you to keep the momentum of the round going,” Woods said, “and that was a big putt for me to make, after making a mistake on my tee shot and missing it left.”
Woods’ performance on the greens was noteworthy because he changed putters this week. His motivation for changing: He wanted to use a longer putter, so he wouldn’t have to bend over so much while practicing.
Yes, Tiger basically admitted he’s getting old.
He’s accustomed to spending as much as four to six hours a day practicing putting, a work load he can’t sustain with his surgically repaired back at age 44. So he went to a longer putter mostly to make himself more physically comfortable.
“I’ve been messing around with this putter for over a year,” Woods said. “It’s difficult for me to bend over at times, so I don’t spend the hours I used to practicing putting. … This one is just a little bit longer, and I’ve been able to spend a little bit more time putting.”
This is only Woods’ fourth start of the year and just his second since Feb. 16, nearly six months ago. He struggled through back soreness three weeks ago at The Memorial, in which he tied for 40th in his only previous start since the PGA Tour returned from its coronavirus hiatus in midJune.