Uneven Tiger shoots 73 during opening round of Memorial
Tiger Woods got off to a rough start but finished strong Thursday in the first round of the 40th Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
An early back-nine starter with Jason Day and Patrick Reed, Woods bogeyed three of the first four holes and made the turn in 4-over-par 40. But he regrouped on the front nine with three birdies and no bogeys to shoot a 3-under 33 and finished with a 73.
“I didn’t play very good at all today,” said Woods, a five-time winner of the event.
It was his highest opening score at the Memorial since 2002 when he shot 74.
Ken Duke, Ryan Moore, Brendon Todd and Harris English shared the early first-round lead with a 67.
Starting his round on the par-4 10th, Tiger drove left, hit his second shot into the left bunker and two-putted for a bogey from 10 feet. He also bogeyed the par-5 11th, hitting his second shot into a creek fronting the green and two-putted from 20 feet.
At the dangerous, downhill par-3 12th, Woods hit a nice tee shot and two-putted for a par. But he hit a poor drive into the right trees at the par-4 13th, played his second shot left of the green, flopped his third 20 feet beyond the pin and two-putted for a bogey.
Tiger got one back at the par-4 14th, where he flagged his approach shot six feet from the hole and made the birdie putt. After a two-putt par at 15, Woods hit another nice tee shot at the par-3 16th to about six feet and poured in the birdie putt.
With light rain beginning to fall, Tiger drove into the gallery on the right at the par-4 17th, slashed his second shot about 100 yards short of the green, hit a sand wedge to six feet and two-putted for a bogey. He knocked his tee shot out of bounds to the right on the par-4 18th and closed the side with a double bogey to post a 4-over 40.
Moving to the front nine, Tiger drove into the left rough at the par-4 first and made a scrambling par. At the par-4 second, he hit a nice approach shot and recorded a birdie. Woods also gave himself a good birdie chance at the par-4 third but couldn’t convert.
At the par-3 fourth, Woods spun his tee shot off the front of the green but hit a nice flop shot and saved par. Tiger was unable to birdie the par-5 fifth, where he pulled his tee shot left, hit a good layup shot, spun his third shot off the green and did well to get up-and-down to save par.
But Woods rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-4 sixth, then made it two in a row with a birdie at the par-5 seventh. At the latter, he had to hit a provisional drive when he thought his first tee shot went out of bounds.
Tiger two-putted the par-4 ninth from the fringe to finish with a par.
On the day, Woods hit only 4 of 14 fairways, 9 of 18 greens and used 27 putts.
“I just tried to stay committed to what we are working on,” he said, referring to swing coach Chris Como.
Tiger begins second round play on Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET with Day and Reed.
