Tiger Woods is back in action this week for the first time since missing the cut at the U.S. Open.
The 14-time major champion is competing in the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, an event he hosts just outside of Washington, D.C. Tiger shot an even-par 72 on Thursday, a round featuring 15 pars, two birdies and one double-bogey.
Woods last played the event in 2015 when it was held at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. He finished in 18th place. He missed the cut the previous year.
Woods tees off on the back-nine at 8:20 a.m. ET alongside Marc Leishman and Bill Haas. Follow along for shot-by-shot analysis of his second round.
Thoughts at the turn
Today's phrase: unforced errors. While normally used in tennis, it works in golf, too. Golf unforced errors are mistakes made in non-pressure situations with nothing impeding the shot. See Tiger's efforts on No. 11 and No. 17. A blown approach from the fairway set up the first bogey, and three-putting on a par 3 just won't cut it on the PGA Tour. But what we saw on the other seven holes from Tiger was a blast from the past: Sticking approach shots close, making putts, saving par and scrambling when needed, and of course doing the extraordinary like his hole-out on No. 18.
Sure, it was an up-and-down first nine holes, but man was it fun.
Hole 18 - Par 4
FORE! Tiger goes driver off the tee and loses this one right. He got a little love from a hill in the rough, but didn't get enough of a bounce to be in the fairway. From the thick stuff he was heading towards the green but came up a little short and right, potentially in a bunker. It wasn't in a bunker, checking up on the fringe. Tiger's pitch was perfect, literally perfect, because he holed out for birdie. Huge momentum swing at the turn for TW after an awful three-put bogey on No. 17. 2-under thru 9 (2-under for the tournament).
Hole 17 - Par 3
Tiger finds the green off the tee on No. 17, but he's got some work to do. Good, not great effort (though its a front pin guarded by water). A complete misread or mishit here, because it never had a chance. This one misses long and right, and he's still got some work to just save par. He misses the 6-footer long, and finishes with a three-putt bogey. Ouch. 1-under thru 8 (1-under for the tournament).
Leaderboard update: Andrew Landry was tied for the lead with J.J. Spaun at 7-under par after Thursday's opening round, but the two are now joined by C.T. Pan, who's 4-under on the day thru 12.
Hole 16 - Par 4
Tiger hits another fairway, this time with an iron. Not a long shot but its int he short stuff. The pin is left on the green, surrounded by bunkers, and Tiger plays the approach safely. He lands this one near the center of the green, setting up a two-putt par or an impressive birdie. He went for this one but it had a little too much speed. Par. 2-under thru 7 (2-under for the tournament).
Hole 15 - Par 4
Tiger pulls driver for the first time today and this one is absolutely crushed down the fairway. 338 yards down the fairway, to be exact. He lands his approach on the green and it spins a few feet further from the hole, but he's got a good look at birdie again. His new mallet putter is hot today, that's another birdie. 2-under thru 6 (2-under for the tournament).
Hole 14 - Par 4
The driveable par 4 is playing 282-yards today, and after missing short with 3-wood yesterday Tiger first pulled driver, then switched back to 3-wood. He should've stuck with the driver, because his tee shot found the bunker. It's a good, not great out, running to the fringe just off the green, setting up a chance to two-putt or get up-and-down for par (depending how he plays it). His putt had too much juice and runs 4-5 feet past the hole, but he cleans up for par on a hole that could've easily been a birdie. 1-under thru 5 (1-under for the tournament).
Hole 13 - Par 4
For the fourth consecutive hole, Tiger goes iron off the tee, and this one is perfect. His flip wedge into the green is just as nice, landing past the hole and spinning back for another look at birdie. This one never broke for Tiger and misses right. Par. 1-under thru 4 (1-under for the tournament).
Hole 12 - Par 3
152-yards today on No. 12, and Tiger finds the green, pin-high right of the cup, around 20-feet. Chirp-chirp-chirp, Tiger responds with a birdie to get back to 1-under thru 3 (1-under for the tournament).
While that bogey on No. 11 wasn't great, it clearly wasn't a momentum-stopper after his birdie on No. 10. Only dropping a shot after hitting into a hazard was a great outcome. Tiger looks like he has it going early today.
Hole 11 - Par 4
Just like yesterday, Tiger's off to a solid start off the tee. For the second consecutive hole he's hit a beauty with an iron and finds himself in the middle of the fairway. Oh, boy. This one went right, a complete mishit, into a marsh hazard. Tiger took a full swing just to get this one 5 feet out of the hazard. His fourth shot gets up on the green, leaving a 5-foot putt to save bogey. Back to even thru 2 (even for the tournament).
Hole 10 - Par 5
Tiger goes with an iron off the tee to start and finds the left fairway. His second shot from the fairway runs up just short of the green, setting up a chance to get up-and-down for birdie on his first hole. He went with the putter off the green here and left it short, north of 20-feet. This guy knows what he's doing, though, because he sinks the birdie putt to drop to 1-under thru 1 (1-under for the tournament).
This was a fantastic start for Tiger. He takes advantage of his length, finds a fairway and sinks a clutch putt, something he struggled with yesterday.
Read Again https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2018/06/29/tiger-woods-analysis-quicken-loans-national-friday-round/744946002/Bagikan Berita Ini
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