Woods putts up some ugly numbers: 7, 78
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. » As Tiger Woods stood in the middle of the first fairway, the last thing on his mind was a 7.
That number was the first thing on his scorecard Thursday in the U.S. Open.
It didn’t get better on his way to another ugly number, a firstround 78.
“I just didn’t get off to a good start,” Woods said. “I drove good most of the day, just didn’t do much from there. I just didn’t putt well.”
It wasn’t his worst opener in this tournament. Woods shot an 80 at Chambers Bay three years ago, his most recent U.S. Open before back surgeries sidelined him.
Woods rallied by playing the rest of the front nine at 1-under par. After that, his putting fluctuated from spotty to just plain bad, including four putts on the 13th.
“It was not very good,” he said of unlucky No. 13. “I was worried about running the (first) putt by, it would be downhill (coming back). I blocked the next one, (and) blocked the next one. It was not very good.”
Nope, it wasn’t. Shinnecock Hills pushed him around the way it did so many other top names and supposed contenders. A 15th major championship and first in 10 years appears beyond improbable for the greatest golfer of his generation.
Woods was nine strokes out of the lead, in the company of Phil Mickelson (7-over-80), Jordan Spieth (8 over), Jason Day (9 over) and Rory McIlroy (10 over).
“I think he played better than he scored,” said playing partner Dustin Johnson, who finished the day in a four-way tie for the lead at 1 under. “Obviously he got off to a rough start, but I felt like he hung in there pretty good.”
With the fairways and greens lined a half-dozen deep in spots for the marquee threesome of Johnson, Woods and Justin Thomas, there never was a shortage of encouraging shouts of “Tiger!” There were audible groans, though, on the opening hole with each of his subsequent shots.
“We thought there were probably seven to nine birdie-able holes out there, but that changed dramatically with the wind blowing and where they put these pins,” Woods said.