September 19, 2024

 


Tiger Woods shot a 1-over-par 72 on Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Championship, but he watched another strong effort fall short of the finish line. Xander Schauffele finished with a 9-under 62, 10 strokes ahead of Woods after a bogey-bogey finish. At Louisville, Kentucky’s Valhalla Golf Club, where he won the second of his four PGA Championships 24 years ago, Woods started his round on the back nine. On Thursday, he turned in a 1-over 37 round and recovered to even par after making his 12th birdie of the day on the par-3 third hole. With another birdie on the seventh hole, Woods went under par for the first and only time, but he quickly lost it with a three-putt on the par-3 eighth hole. On the ninth hole, he missed his par putt, which resulted in another three-putt bogey.

Following the round, Woods told ESPN, “It was a grind today, certainly.” “I didn’t drive it very well the entire day. Today, I found it difficult to keep up with the greens’ slightly faster pace. I three-whooped the final two holes after smoking a few past the hole. Woods made all three of his sand save attempts, hit 13 of 18 greens, and hit nine out of fourteen fairways on the day. He also made putts that were 93 feet long, but the last two holes were the ones that tasted worse. He remarked, “It wasn’t how I like to end rounds.” “But there’s still a long way to go, so we’ll see.” For the first time since making the cut at the Masters last month, Woods is taking part in competition. Among those who made the cut, the 15-time major champion finished last at Augusta National over the weekend, losing 82–77.

He needs to make the 36-hole cut before he can hope for a better result this week. Playing in the afternoon wave on Friday, Woods, who battled back from major knee and leg injuries that prevented him from making the cut at Valhalla in 2014, said it helps that he has more time in between rounds. After Thursday’s round, Woods said of his body’s reaction, “It is what it is.” “There is competition. Additionally, competing and getting out there takes a lot of work. “I just wish I had driven a little bit more consistently and performed a little bit better on the greens today.”

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