Tiger shoots 1-under 71 in Round 1 at Sherwood
Tiger Woods knew he would have to shake off some rust Thursday in the first round of the Northwestern Mutual Challenge at calm but chilly Sherwood Country Club. After a lengthy layoff, he wasn’t sure which part of his game would suffer.
As it turned out, he drove the ball well, hitting many good shots, but struggled with a few short irons and missed two easy putts. As a result, the five-time winner finished with a 1-under 71.
“I made a few mistakes,” Tiger said. “I also hit a few that ended up in some interesting spots. It’s just my feel. I felt I hit the ball decent.”
Using a new Nike Covert prototype driver, Woods hit 11 of 13 fairways in regulation and looked very comfortable swinging the club. However, he hit only 12 of 18 greens in regulation and used 30 putts.
The good news is that only five of the 18 players in the field broke par, led by Zach Johnson with a 67. Tiger is alone in fifth place.
“There’s some tough pins out there,” Woods said. “You miss them on the wrong spots, you’re going to pay a price, and I think that’s what’s signified in the scoring. No one is running away with it.”
After the start of play was delayed one hour due to frost, Tiger hit the ball long and straight off the tee and was often 40 or 50 yards longer than his playing partner, Matt Kuchar.
Woods got off to a shaky start on the 342-yard, par-4 first hole, where he three-putted for a bogey from about 15 feet. Tiger ran his downhill birdie attempt three feet past the cup and seemed to rush his par putt. Tiger failed to birdie the 531-yard, par-5 second, then made a nice up-and-down par save at the 198-yard, par-3 third. At the latter, he blocked his tee shot into the right greenside bunker, then splashed his second shot four feet past the hole and made the putt.
Woods blasted a long drive at the 456-yard, par-4 fourth, which doglegs left-to-right around a hazard. Tiger was left with a short iron to the green and knocked his approach shot pin-high right, 15 feet from the flag. His birdie putt flirted with the cup but ran three feet by, and he settled for a par.
At the uphill 531-yard, par-5 fifth, Woods smashed a big drive and reached the green in two shots with a 3-wood, the ball releasing about 16 feet past the hole. Tiger cautiously left his eagle putt just short, but tapped in for an easy birdie.
Woods nearly birdied the 422-yard, par-4 sixth, then drilled another long drive at the 446-yard, par-4 sixth, which is known as the “Rock Hole” because of a rock outcropping about 307 yards down the fairway. Tiger blew it past the rocks but hit a poor second shot that missed the green right, leaving little green to work with. He putted up the slope and salvaged par with a four-foot putt.
At the difficult 228-yard, par-3 eighth, Tiger narrowly missed the green to the right, then hit a nice uphill chip shot four feet short of the cup and saved par. Woods drove accurately at the downhill 422-yard, par-4 ninth but again lost his short iron approach to the right, with the ball finding a greenside bunker. Tiger hit a beautiful bunker shot three feet past the hole and made the par putt to make the turn in even-par 36.
Woods two-putted the 359-yard, par-4 10th hole for par, then birdied 517-yard, par-5 11th. Once again, Tiger pounded a long drive and used an iron for his second shot, the ball landing on the green and rolling over the back into short rough. He hit a perfectly judged sand wedge within two feet of the hole for his second birdie of the day.
At the 191-yard, par-3 12th, Woods found a greenside bunker off the tee. Once again, Woods showed his prowess out of the sand, blasting to two feet for an easy par. Tiger two-putted the next three holes for pars.
Moving to the reachable-in-two 563-yard, par-5 16th, Woods hit a poor second shot into the right rough, forcing him to play a low-punch under fronting trees, the ball scooting over the back of the putting surface. Tiger’s downhill chip trickled four feet past the cup and he converted the par save.
At the uphill 154-yard, par-3 17th, Tiger used a pitching wedge and wisely played it 25 feet past the hole, avoiding the dangerous front pin. He two-putted for par, just missing left.
Woods split the fairway with a fairway woods at the downhill 444-yard, par-4 18th. He cut a gorgeous second shot over the water to about four feet, but lipped out the putt.
“I shot about the (right) score,” Tiger said. “Maybe could have gotten one or two more out of it.”
While Tiger was playing, Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, died at age 95. Tiger met and greatly admired the anti-apartheid leader.
“It’s sad for everyone who got a chance to not only meet him, but I’ve been influenced by him,” Woods said. “I got a chance to meet him with my father back in ’98. He invited us to his home for lunch, and it was one of the most inspiring times I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a sad day for many people around the world.”
Woods was especially influenced by Mandela’s courage and character after being jailed for 27 years.
“I don’t think any of us probably could have survived that and come out as humble and dignified as he did, and to lead an entire nation and to basically love the world when he came out,” said Tiger. “I think that’s a testament to his will and his spirit and who he was.”
Tiger tees off Friday at 1:36 p.m. ET with Graeme McDowell.
