Tiger’s 70 nothing to sneeze at
DUBLIN, Ohio — About the only thing Tiger Woods struggled with in Thursday’s first round of the Memorial Tournament were the cottonwood trees that are in abundant supply at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Well, and the 18th hole. Woods, a four-time winner here at the place Jack Nicklaus built, battled allergies triggered by the white gauze-like matter emanating from the cottonwood trees and floating throughout the golf course but still fired a 2-under-par 70 to establish a presence on the leaderboard. Com- ing off his worst three-tournament stretch as a professional, Woods took care of the par-5s with three birdies and saved par four times with putts of more than 5 feet.
Scott Stallings grabbed the lead with a 66, one shot better than Spencer Levin and Erik Compton. Seven players were at 69.
“Well, thank God I had a big towel,” Woods joked in a nod toward his constant need to clear his nose. “It’s just my allergies are killing me.”
Woods has missed the cut once and tied for 40th twice since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After working on his swing the last two weeks, Woods said he played a
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solid round on a course that was playing anything but easy. His lone miscue came at the closing hole, his ninth of the day, when he missed the fairway with his tee shot, missed the green with his approach, dumped his third shot in a bunker and eventually made a double-bogey 6.
“Hopefully we don’t get too much rain and this golf course plays quick the entire week,” Woods said.
That might be asking a bit much. The forecast calls for overnight storms and a 50% chance of thunderstorms today.