Log In


Reset Password
  • MENU
    Pro Sports
    Friday, April 19, 2024

    Woods shoots a 74 on first day back at the office

    Tiger Woods hits out of a sand trap on the third hole Thursday at the Quicken Loans National golf tournament in Bethesda, Md., his first round since undergoing surgery earlier this year.

    Tiger Woods was back on the PGA Tour for the first time in more than three months Thursday and said he felt "fantastic."

    He was talking about his back, not his game.

    One day into his most recent return from injury, that's what mattered to him.

    Woods opened with two straight bogeys, made five more bogeys in a seven-hole stretch around the turn at tough Congressional and finally found his groove late in the opening round of the Quicken Loans National for a 3-over 74.

    Woods was tied for 83rd - only 19 players had a higher score - and he will have to score better Friday if he wants to avoid missing the cut for the first time in two years.

    "I made so many little mistakes," Woods said. "So I played a lot better than the score indicated."

    Congressional had a lot to do with that.

    Two weeks after a U.S. Open that had no rough, Congressional made it feel like one. Any shot just off the fairway was buried, making it difficult for even the powerful players to reach the green on some of the longer par 4s.

    Greg Chalmers finished with three straight birdies for a 66 and a one-shot lead over Ricky Barnes and Freddie Jacobson. Defending champion Bill Haas, Patrick Reed, U.S. Open runner-up Erik Compton and Tyrone Van Aswegen shot 68. Compton birdied his last four holes.

    Only 26 players in the 120-man field broke par.

    This day, however, was all about Woods.

    - Associated Press

    Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.