Tiger battles through difficult first round at U.S. Open
Three-time champion Tiger Woods struggled to a 10-over 80 on Thursday in the first round of the 115th U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.
It was his highest opening round in 19 starts of the tournament.
“Not very happy, that’s for sure,” a composed Woods said afterward. “It was a tough day.”
A late front-nine starter with Rickie Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen, Tiger got off to a poor start. For the ninth time in his last 10 PGA Tour starts, he bogeyed his opening hole, the 501-yard, par-4 first. After a good drive, he blocked a 6-iron from 200 yards into the tall fescue grass short-right of the green, leaving a difficult downhill lie and an awkward stance. He did well to chop the ball 20 feet short of the pin and two-putted.
At the 387-yard, par-4 second, Woods used an iron off the tee and still found the right rough. His second shot came up well short of the green in a deep bunker, where he blasted 20 feet short of the flagstick and just missed his par attempt.
Tiger narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt at the 148-yard, par-3 third, catching a piece of the cup before recording his first par. At the 495-yard, par-4 fourth, he drove into the right fairway bunker, came up 25 yards short of the green, where he putted six feet past the hole and just missed his slippery par try, sliding right of the cup for his third bogey in four holes.
Woods split the fairway with a 3-wood at the 488-yard, par-4 fifth. However, he pulled his second shot left of the green into a swale and chose to putt over a five-foot rise, some 70 feet from the hole. Tiger judged it beautifully and nearly rolled it in, escaping with a par.
At the 494-yard, par-4 sixth, Woods drove into the right rough and faced a blind, uphill second shot from 160 yards. He flushed a 9-iron 25 feet past the pin, but was faced with a tricky downhill, big breaking putt from right to left, which settled six feet short and left of the cup. Tiger failed to convert, sustaining his first three putt of the tournament.
Moving to the 515-yard, par-4 seventh, Woods ripped a good drive down the fairway and was left with 144 yards to the uphill green. His approach finished about 23 feet right of the pin and he two-putted for a par.
At the reachable 602-yard, par-5 eighth, Tiger pushed his driver way right into the tall fescue grass and was clearly displeased. The ball settled into a hole, but he managed to slash his second shot across the fairway into the left rough, releasing the club after impact and watching it sail about 20 yards behind him. After checking to make sure the club wasn’t bent, Woods gouged his third shot onto the green, 25 feet short of the hole and lipped out his long birdie bid, the ball slipping three feet past. Tiger finished off his tricky left-to-right par putt, but received no applause because spectators aren’t allowed near the green due to the dangerous terrain.
The par-3 ninth can be played several ways, and the USGA chose a lower tee measuring 203 yards. The challenging front-left pin was guarded by deep bunkers in front, but Woods flagged a 4-iron about 25 feet past the cup. From there, he two-putted for par to make the turn in 4-over 39.
With the wind starting to kick up and temperatures dropping, Tiger moved to the 436-yard, par-4 10th, where he hit a 3-wood down the right side of the fairway, but blocked his second shot into the right greenside bunker, the ball burying. With little green to work with, Woods gouged a remarkable explosion shot five feet past the pin, bowed to the appreciative crowd, then knocked in the par putt.
His smile didn’t last long. At the 500-yard, par-4 11th, Tiger’s 3-wood trickled into the right rough and his second shot hung up short of the green in the thick fescue. He tried to hit a high third shot — his only chance to get the ball close to the pin — but wound up 20 feet past and two-putted for a bogey.
Still in search of his first birdie of the tournament, Tiger hit a 3-wood off the tee at the drivable 317-yard, par-4 12th, but pushed it way right on a hill. He caught a break when the ball stopped on a gravel path and hit his blind third shot on the green, about 30 feet left of the flag. But Woods three-putted for the second time and sustained his sixth bogey of the tournament.
At the 512-yard, par-4 13th, Tiger’s tee shot soared way right and settled in thick fescue on a hill. All he could he do was chop the ball back into the fairway. Woods hit a nice third shot 12 feet left of the hole, but was unable to save par.
Continuing to struggle off the tee, Woods hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker at the par-4 14th, then caught his second shot heavy and found another bunker. Faced with an awkward lie near tall fescue in the middle of the sand, Tiger couldn’t make clean contact and failed to escape. He eventually missed a four-foot putt and absorbed a triple-bogey.
Woods hit a beautiful tee shot at the downhill 169-yard, par-3 15th about eight feet left of the hole. But typical of how the day went, his birdie putt hung on the left edge of the cup and refused to fall.
However, Tiger kept fighting. He hit a good drive and short punch shot to the par-4 16th hole four feet left of the pin and made the putt for his first and only birdie of the day.
At the 173-yard, par-3 17th, Woods found the middle of the green but was left with a long, uphill putt over a swale. His birdie putt slid four feet right, but he handled it for a par.
With darkness falling, Tiger reached the 617-yard, par-5 18th hole, lined by bleachers along the right side of the fairway to the green with nearly 6,000 spectators. After a good drive, he topped his second shot with a 3-wood into a newly-built, 10-foot deep bunker about 100 yards short of the green called “Chambers Basement.” Woods splashed back into the fairway, hit a wedge on the green and two-putted for a bogey to end the long, frustrating day.
“I just couldn’t quite get it turned around today,” Woods said. “It’s just one of those things. I’ve got to work through it. I tried as hard as I could. For some reason, I just can’t get the consistency that I would like out there.”
Somehow, Tiger managed to maintain his sense of humor.
“The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie’s butt today,” smiled Woods.
Fowler carded an 11-over 81 to conclude his 18 holes.
Tiger begins second-round play Friday at 11:28 ET on the 10th tee with Fowler and Oosthuizen.
