Tiger shoots 4-over after tough round with irons

PINEHURST, N.C. — Tiger Woods picked the depraved path to web a inferior round along with his irons.

The 15-time essential champion hit 12 of 14 fairways within the essential round of the 124th U.S. Initiate at Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday. But Woods’ irons weren’t dialed in on a route that demands accuracy this skill that of its complex greens and dramatic runoffs, and he missed 9 of 18 greens en path to a 4-over 74.

“I did now not hit my irons severely smartly,” Woods mentioned. “Didn’t putt that big. Drove it on the string all day. Unfortunately, I appropriate did now not capitalize on it.”

Woods, a three-time U.S. Initiate champion, modified into tied for 54th when he walked off the route, 9 strokes on the aid of chief Patrick Cantlaywho opened with a 5-below 65.

“I modified into considerably conservative in just a few of my destroy points,” Woods mentioned. “On the other hand, I did now not hit the ball very smartly both. It added up to reasonably a bit of of distance a long way off from the flag. It be no longer where I mandatory to be on many of the holes. It appropriate ended up being that a long way-off because I wasn’t as piquant as I mandatory to be.”

Woods gave his followers a promising launch when he made a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 10, his first hole of the round, to pass to 1 below. On the par-4 12th, he made a 10-footer to set up par, adopted by an 8½-footer on the 13th to remain 1 below.

Things fell aside once he reached the par-4 16th. Woods missed the golf green for the essential damage day the tee, then had to punch out looking out the inexperienced. He barely missed a 20-footer and made bogey to fall to even par.

On the par-3 17th, Woods three-putted from 47½ toes for a bogey. After making the flip at 1 over, Woods three-putted from 38 toes on No. 1. After one other bogey on the second and a par on the third, Woods had a spectacular chip out of a greenside bunker but missed a 4½-footer for par for a bogey on No. 4.

Woods modified into 5 over from No. 16 to No. 4. He bounced aid to web a birdie on the par-5 fifth, barely lacking a 30-footer for eagle.

“This golf route is all about the greens,” Woods mentioned. “The complexes are appropriate so tough and so excessive that, I mean, I judge 1-below par is barely in fifth [place]. There are no longer that many rankings which would possibly perhaps well presumably be low.

“It be laborious to salvage the ball shut. In most golf functions you play, you hit photographs into where it’s feeding off of slopes into flags, whereas collecting. Right here the whole lot is repelling. It be appropriate laborious to salvage the ball on high of the cabinets.”

Woods, forty eight, hasn’t damaged par in a round in a essential since carding a 1-below 69 within the second round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Golf & Country Membership in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His 11 straight rounds in majors with out breaking par is the longest drag of his profession, in step with files from ESPN Stats & Info.

Woods has work to salvage Friday if he goes to steer determined of lacking the lower for the second straight essential. He knows it would possibly perhaps perhaps no longer be straight forward, given the cases at Pinehurst No. 2.

“It can well presumably budge to this point the opposite course here, the depraved come,” Woods mentioned. “It be appropriate so laborious to salvage aid. Right here’s a golf route that would now not stop tons of of birdies. It provides up reasonably just a few bogeys and better. I presumed I did the one factor I mandatory to salvage this day, which is power the ball smartly. I did that — I appropriate did now not capitalize on any of it.”