Tiger Woods, along with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, promises to have a stronger performance in the next few days after struggling in the PGA Championship’s opening round.
Tiger Woods’ streak of 455 days without breaking par in the first round of a tournament was extended on Thursday when he three-putted his final two holes at the PGA Championship.
On his sixteenth hole, No. 7, the 15-time Major champion made a 13-foot birdie putt to push himself into the red figures. However, the 2000 Valhalla champion missed the comeback after racing a birdie putt past the hole on hole number eight.
At his last hole, the American sensation committed the same mistake again, missing his opening putt by seven feet to finish with a one-over 72. He trailed the clubhouse lead by ten strokes. “It wasn’t how I usually end rounds,” remarked the eighth-ranked player in the world. “For the final two holes, I three-whipped.” On 8, I whipped it past the hole due to bad speed. And nine, cut it brief.
“Blocked the second putt and hit it off the putter’s heel. Therefore, it was subpar on the final two holes. Still a long way to go. Let’s see what happens.”
With his goatee becoming gray, 48-year-old Woods last broke par on the first day of the Genesis Invitational in February 2023. He has only participated in five events since, and this is his first since setting a record by making the cut at the Masters last month. At the par-three 11th hole, he got off to a sluggish start, bogeying the hole after finding thick rough off the tee and chipping into a greenside bunker.
“It took me probably three holes to get back into competitive flow again and get a feel for hitting the ball out there in competition, adrenaline, temperatures, green speeds,” he stated. “Normally, I can adapt to all of these things really quickly; it only took me a few hiccups to get the hang of it. Without a doubt, I’m getting stronger. I simply don’t participate in many competitive rounds.”
It took 15 holes for all three Majors champions—Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, and himself—to find the fairway on the same hole when they were playing together. Bradley, the 2011 US PGA champion, closed with three birdies in his final six holes to finish with a 69. However, in his 72-hole round, 2013 Masters winner Scott made 17 pars and one bogey.
Conversely, Xander Schauffele had a memorable opening day. The American shot a nine-under-par 62 at Valhalla, following his defeat by Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship one week prior.
That round matched the best 18-hole score for the four major championships and was the lowest in U.S. PGA history. Schauffele is concentrating on what is ahead of him rather than putting too much pressure on his performance, even after an amazing opening round.
“We still have three rounds left to play, but it was a fantastic start. As we really made the bend, we were put on the clock,” he remarked. “I kinda got in a rhythm and had nobody ahead of us and then just got the ball rolling.”
In the upcoming days, Woods, Bradley, and Scott will all be hoping for improved performances. Schauffle will be hoping for the same kind of luck for the remainder of the PGA Championship.
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