Tiger Woods is determined to improve his performance in the upcoming rounds of the PGA Championship after a challenging start alongside Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.
In Thursday’s opening round, Woods extended his streak of failing to break par to 455 days after three-putting his last two holes. Despite making a 13-foot birdie putt on his 16th hole, he struggled on the final two. A missed birdie putt on No. 8 and a seven-foot shortfall on his final hole resulted in a one-over 72, leaving him ten shots behind the clubhouse lead.
“It wasn’t the way I like to finish off rounds,” commented Woods, ranked 807th in the world. “I three-putted the last two holes. Bad speed on 8; whipped it past the hole. And 9, hit it short. Hit it off the heel of the putt and blocked the second one. So it wasn’t very good on the last two holes. Long way to go. Let’s see what happens.”
The 48-year-old, who last broke par on the opening day at the Genesis Invitational in February 2023, has participated in only five events since then. This tournament marks his first appearance since his record 24th consecutive cut at the Masters last month. His round began slowly with a bogey on the par-three 11th after a tee shot into the rough and a greenside bunker chip.
Reflecting on his performance, Woods said, “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. These are all things that normally I adjust to very quickly, and it just took me a few holes to get into it. I am getting stronger for sure. It’s just that I just don’t play a whole lot of competitive rounds.”
During his round with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, it took 15 holes for all three Major champions to hit the fairway on the same hole. Bradley, the 2011 US PGA winner, finished strong with three birdies in his last six holes for a 69. Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, ended with 17 pars and one bogey for a 72.
Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele had an impressive opening day, shooting a nine-under-par 62 at Valhalla, following his recent runner-up finish to Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship.
