Woods tied for lead at East Lake after 4-under 66
Tiger Woods hasn’t played in the TOUR Championship since 2009, but he has good memories of East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. In his last four visits, Tiger has won once and finished second three times.
So it was hardly surprising that the 36-year-old Woods shared Thursday’s opening-round lead in the $8 million tournament, the last of four FedExCup playoff events. He made six birdies and two bogeys en route to a 4-under-par 66 and is tied with Justin Rose.
“The trouble is right there in front of you,” Woods said. “It’s very simple, but it’s rare that you see guys go low here.”
Woods has now led or shared the first-round lead 27 times in his PGA Tour career, winning 13 times.
A two-time winner of the TOUR Championship, Woods entered playing solid golf and ranked second to Rory McIlroy on the FedExCup points list. The winner will receive a $10 million bonus on Sunday.
Woods and the 23-year-old McIlroy played together Thursday on a warm, mostly sunny day in front of a loud and appreciative gallery, and gave them plenty to cheer about. They chatted throughout the round and have mutual respect and appreciation for each other.
“I enjoy playing with Rory,” Woods said. “He’s a great kid. Over the years, there are certain pairings for me that I’ve enjoyed, and Rory is one of them.”
Tiger gave himself a great birdie opportunity at the 424-yard, par-4 first hole, where he hit his approach shot from 172 yards nine feet above the cup. He missed right and settled for a par.
At the 217-yard, par-3 second, Woods hit a 6-iron pin-high, 21 feet from the hole, and buried the birdie putt. He added another at the 375-yard, par-4 third, where he nestled his second shot five feet from the cup.
Tiger dropped a stroke at the 440-yard, par-4 fourth. After a good drive, he had 133 yards to the hole. Although the ball was covered with mud from the rain-softened fairway, he hit a poor approach shot into the right greenside bunker and short-sided himself. Woods left his third shot just short of the green, then almost chipped in, but salvaged a bogey.
At the 520-yard, par-4 fifth, Tiger knocked his downhill second shot from 207 yards with a 6-iron just short of the putting surface and two-putted from 30 feet. He pulled his tee shot at the 221-yard, par-3 sixth hole, which is guarded by water, into the left greenside bunker. This time, Woods hit a beautiful explosion shot one foot from the hole to save par.
Tiger two-putted the 434-yard, par-4 seventh hole from 22 feet, rolling his birdie attempt four feet past the cup. He drove into the left fairway bunker at the 404-yard, par-4 eighth, but hit a nice approach from 130 yards to within 25 feet and two-putted.
At the 586-yard, par-5 ninth, Woods found the left greenside bunker with his second shot, but hit another good recovery shot four feet from the cup and made the birdie putt to make the turn in 2-under 33.
Tiger did well to two-putt the 459-yard, par-4 10th hole from 52 feet, sinking a five-footer. He also two-putted the 197-yard, par-3 11th hole from 25 feet for a par.
Moving to the 391-yard, par-4 12th, Tiger hit a good drive but missed the green to the right. Woods hit a perfectly executed pitch-and-run chip from 21 feet that found the bottom of the cup for a birdie.
At the 391-yard, par-4 13th, Tiger flushed a 286-yard driver down the fairway and was left with 151 yards to the pin. From there, he hit a gorgeous second shot six feet behind the hole but was unable to convert the slick, downhill, right-to-left birdie putt.
Woods blocked his drive into the right rough at the 442-yard, par-4 14th and was forced to play short of the green with his second shot. He hit a sand wedge from 63 yards to nine feet but missed the par putt.
Tiger quickly rebounded with a birdie at the 525-yard, par-5 15th hole, where he came up 36 yards short of the green in two, then flagged a sand wedge three feet from the cup for an easy birdie. He added another at the 481-yard, par-4 16th, where he blasted a 329-yard tee shot and knocked his second shot from 150 yards to seven feet.
Woods gave himself two more good chances coming in. He missed a 17-foot birdie try at the 470-yard, par-4 17th, then hit a wonderful tee shot to the uphill, 235-yard, par-3 finishing hole — the ball stopped 11 1/2 feet from the hole — but was unable to capitalize.
“I probably could have gotten a few more out if it,” Woods said of his round. “But I was probably right on my number.” For the round, Tiger hit 71 percent of the fairways and 72 percent of the greens in regulation. Aided by the chip-in, he used only 26 putts, which tied for second in the 30-player field.
“I hit a couple of very good putts that lipped out,” Woods said. “Other than that, it was a really good day.”
During the four playoff events this year, Tiger has posted first-round scores of 68, 64, 65 and 66.
Earlier in the week, Greg Norman suggested Woods was intimidated by McIlroy, the latter having won the last two FedExCup events. Tiger kiddingly started calling McIlroy “The Intimidator,” and said his only concern is putting himself in contention on Sunday.
“Just winning,” he said. “Winning takes care of everything.”
On Friday, Woods tees off at 2:05 p.m. ET with Rose.
