All the attention on the first day of the PGA Championship was on set tiger woodAnd Rory McIlroy And Jordan Spieth. It was the largest group of the day, and the most powerful in the monarchy.
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While McIlroy made a show—filming 5 Under 65—the star always stars Woods. Given that this is his second occurrence since a single car crash in February 2021 that cost him his right leg, questions remain: How will he do? Will the leg hold up?
Woods struggled his way to the opening inning of 74, making him 9 strokes behind McIlroy. Here’s how it happened:
No. 10: Bar 4, 376 yards
There are still 71 holes left, but Woods’ PGA Championship first hole couldn’t be better. He mapped 3-wood 339 yards, which, of course, came with a twirl.
Tiger tees off.@Tiger wood | # chat pic.twitter.com/k9MFJqAcu3
– PGA Championship (PGAChampionship) May 19, 2022
Then he ran a perfectly small wedge from 95 yards to 3 feet. That beating was right in the middle, and he started his tour around the Southern Hills with a perfect birdie.
Called early.@Tiger wood | # chat pic.twitter.com/3G9mL1fSy6
– PGA Championship (PGAChampionship) May 19, 2022
The result: Byrdie
Total: 1 under
No. 11: 3 bar, 173 yards
Woods took a conservative approach on his second hole of the day, hitting an 8-iron steel in the middle of the green. He missed putting his plane in the kick range. Two holes in, and no drama yet.
Result: equal
Total: 1 under
No. 12: Bar 4, 461 yards
Stinger made his debut in this PGA Championship. Woods drilled a low iron from a tee. Meanwhile, Spieth and McIlroy hit the drivers. the difference? Woods’ tee shot traveled 273 yards; Spieth hit 328 yards and McIlroy bombed 354 yards. From 195 yards, Woods dominated with a perfect approach that never left the flag. Woods slammed his 20-foot foot to a birdie during the break and had to settle on a flat foot.
Result: equal
Total: 1 under
No. 13: Par 5, 632 yards
Woods’ first driver of the day looked as smooth as all the twists that came before him. Woods unleashes 353 yards down the left side. Once again, though, he sat behind tee shots for Spieth and McIlroy, who both tried to come home in two in par-5. Woods captured a comfortable yard space—he had 85 yards for his third shot—and then made a horrific foul. He airmailed a small wedge—almost the same shot he stuffed into the first hole—into the back bunker.
This might be the worst wedge you’ll ever see hitting a tiger. #LongAndWrong
– Michael Ives (@michaeleaves) May 19, 2022
Woods scrambled for par thanks to a superb shot into the vault. But looking at where he was after two shots, that was more tense than he wanted on the 13th.
Result: equal
Total: 1 under
No. 14: 3 bar, 230 yards
During a long wait on the tee, Woods polished off a large sandwich that made buzz on social media.
What is in a tiger sandwich? Wrong answers only pic.twitter.com/ehvuFiMOq7
– Paolo Uggetti May 19, 2022
Once the wait was over and the brunch was finished, Woods got up and hit another iron. He came home in the 13-foot jet to get his second birdie of the tour. However, he is not the most exciting player in his group. McIlroy dropped 25 feet for his third straight jump.
The result: Byrdie
Total: 2 less than
No. 15: Par 4, 417 yards
Nothing in that hole went well for Woods. He tried to hit another needle off the tee, but that sting seeped into the rough bowl. The second shot fell into the front bunker. The blast sailed from the sand too far. Two strikes later and Woods went away with his first bogey in the tournament. Meanwhile, McIlroy Heater continued with a fourth straight birdie.
Four birds straight for Rory.
The last time Rory McIlroy had 4 birds in a row in the opening round of a Raid? 2014 PGA Championship, his last big win.
Justin RayGolf May 19, 2022
Result: boogie
Total: 1 under
No. 16: Par 4, 522 yards
Woods always made sure to think his way around the golf course, especially at the major tournaments. He knew what he was doing with his bullet on the sixteenth day, as he was hit by a soft slash that stopped a few meters from the lair of the passageway. From there, hit a safe iron in the middle of the green and a two-racer to get par in the terribly long par-4.
Result: equal
Total: 1 under
No. 17: Bar 4, 371 yards
Sure, the 17th is the shortest 4-bar on the course, but it caught the players’ attention. why? The wind picked up. It’s as strong as it was,” McIlroy told Harry Diamond’s carriage. Woods, after a safe sting from a tee, had only 113 yards left. Normally, he would have been disappointed by what happened – a wedge lodged on the edge, 15 feet from the hole. But with this wind, this approach was fine. Another revolution and the bird could have fallen. Instead, he sat away from the edge.
Result: equal
Total: 1 under
No. 18: Bar 4, 491 yards
Another good drive by Woods. But he was not happy with his second shot. Almost immediately after the impact, he angrily swung his club back and slammed it into the ground. He knew what was coming. Hook tow on the approach to the rear bunker. To make matters worse – a lot worse – Woods seemed to limp more than he had all day as he walked toward the last green from that side. He hit an inaccurate concealed carry and came out stealthy for the first nine even. But now all attention is turning to his health and how his surgically repaired leg will hold up.
Result: boogie
Total: double
No. 1: Bar 4, 451 yards
Woods’ second nine did not start well. It’s never good when the tee shot comes right behind the tree. With no other choice, he couldn’t even try to hit the green. He lay a short distance to the left, then shot a good shot into the green. But the end result was the second stealth in a row and third from five holes. With his strength he looked at at first, Woods’ match began to slip as he went deeper into his opening round. Plus, he’s heading into the second hole, the eleventh of the day, 5 shots behind McIlroy, who is the leader.
Result: boogie
Total: 1 more
No. 2: Par 4, 480 yards
There are two completely different things going on in this set: McIlroy is hot; The forest is fading away. McIlroy rolled in another birdie, his fifth of the day, while Woods raced his birdie from a 10-foot mile across the hole. Woods couldn’t shift and was another ghost, third in a row.
Result: boogie
Total: 2 more
No. 3: Par 4, 444 yards
With everything going wrong, Woods desperately needed something good to happen. And I finally did. He split the lane with a tee shot. The close-up shot was even better. He controlled the trajectory and spin with the wind spinning, and the ball landed 4 feet from the hole.
The result: Byrdie
Total: 1 more
No. 4: Bar 4, 377 yards
Woods missed the right lane with the iron. McIlroy hit the middle of the lane with a driver. Woods had 148 yards from his second shot; McIlroy had 43 yards. Woods found the green dugout with his approach; McIlroy weaves a wedge low to 10 feet. Woods hit a horrific shot into the bunker that doesn’t hold the green; McIlroy two-stroke. Make the jungle a ghost. McIlroy walked away with a par.
Result: boogie
Total: 2 more
No. 5: Par 5, 656 yards
Hey, equal! No big deal, right? Except that the end result in fifth was Woods’ first parity mark at six holes. It was a string of ghosts and birds going back to the 18th hole in the Woods today. While most pros head to a 5-bar stalker, at 656 yards, this won’t result in nearly 5 other players being played by the pros. Side note: McIlroy made a sparrow—another one.
Result: equal
Total: 2 more
No. 6: 3 bar, 226 yards
Woods took a surprisingly aggressive streak from the tee. Not many balls ended up to the left of the hole location. Although his speed was good on the greens all day, the jumper’s throw from the edge came as short as two feet. Bigger news: McIlroy made his first ghost.
Result: equal
Total: 2 more
No. 7: Par 4, 443 yards
This could have been bad – and it has nothing to do with Woods nearly making another phantom before saving. His shot went the right way. Since he was too far from the tee, he ended up in the closest rough road from the adjacent lane. As he weighed his options, he was nearly hit by a bullet shaped like a springboard toward him. He flinched when the ball passed right in front of him and landed a few yards away.
Result: equal
Total: 2 more
No. 8: 3 bar, 220 yards
Woods started to walk a little slower, with a more pronounced limp as he turned. But after hitting the tee at eight, there was no hiding the pain. scowl. I limp over. The ball is in the bunker. It hit yet another horrific bunker shot – it’s been a theme throughout its opening run – and made another bogey.
Result: boogie
Total: 3 on
No. 9: Par 4, 395 yards
Woods hit another bad shot. And again, he preferred his leg after he was done. His approach flew into the last green of the day long. His slice did not turn green. By the time he finished, he posted a ghost.
Result: boogie
Total: 4-above 74
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