Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were caught discussing baseball and Manchester United during the first round of the PGA Championship.
No golf fans on courses has meant those of us watching at home have gotten so many hot mic gifts, including Brooks Koepka joking about ants after Bryson DeChambeau complained about the insects, Nick Faldo reacting to Rory McIlroy’s audible F-bomb, and Adam Hadwin’s “screw you, but thanks.”
And from the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship, we have an exchange between Tiger Woods and McIlroy, in which Woods comments on the colors of McIlroy’s bag, which are meant to be a tribute to the San Francisco Giants (they’re playing at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco).
Woods is a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, so he explained it to McIlroy — who admitted he didn’t know about baseball — in soccer terms, that it would be like McIlroy (who roots for Manchester United) putting Liverpool colors on his bag.
Here’s a little clip of the conversation between Tiger and Rory about the Giants, ManU and sports.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was hit by an errant shot Thursday at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
Just because social distancing is being enforced at TPC Harding Park, that doesn’t mean there’s no danger.
From rogue golf balls, that is.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was hit by an errant tee shot Thursday at the PGA Championship, but appeared in good spirits after the surprise, according to a report by the Associated Press.
“One hop off the shoulder,” Monahan said of the shot hit by Matthew Fitzpatrick.
According to the report, it was the first time Monahan had ever been hit by a ball on the course in all his years working in the sport.
Monahan told Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio on Friday that he has a bruise from the incident.
The errant shot perfectly summed up the day Fitzpatrick had at the season’s first major as the 25-year-old finished the day 4-over 74 and T-129.
The PGA Championship is being held in San Francisco without patrons due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sportsbookwire takes a look at the live betting odds for Round 2 of the 2020 PGA Championship.
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Jason Day and Brendon Todd lead the 2020 PGA Championship at 5-under par through 18 holes. Tiger Woods is lurking three shots off the pace after an impressive opening round 68.
Below, we look at the live betting odds for Round 2 of the 2020 PGA Championship and make our picks and best bets at each value tier at BetMGM.
Todd shares the lead after shooting an opening 65 in the tougher afternoon conditions at TPC Harding Park, and he is getting significantly higher odds than Day’s +900. The three-time PGA Tour winner won in back-to-back starts earlier in the 2019-20 season. He was in contention at last week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational up until a final round of 75 to finish T-15.
Todd ranked third in the field Thursday with 3.42 Strokes Gained: Putting, according to Data Golf, but he also gained 2.70 strokes tee-to-green and 2.29 on approach. He has winning pedigree in weaker fields and look for him to learn from last week’s experience against the world’s best. He’s the co-leader but ranks fifth by the live odds heading into Friday.
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Tony Finau (+3300)
Finau continues to be undervalued with his Sunday disappointments overshadowing his other strong play since the PGA Tour’s restart. He sits two shots off Thursday’s lead at minus-3 after an opening 67. It was the third time in eight events since the restart he opened with a 67 or better.
He ranks second in the field with 4.52 SG: Tee-to-Green and first with 4.02 SG: Approach through 18 holes. The 19th-ranked golfer in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings has just one PGA Tour win on his resume, but he has finished in the top 10 in five of his last eight majors for plenty of experience with the pressure on.
2020 PGA Championship Round 2 betting picks: Long shot
Patrick Reed (+5000)
Reed, a former Masters champion, sits three strokes back in pursuit of his second career major win. He led the field Thursday with 1.84 SG: Off-the-Tee and is tied for 20th despite losing 0.24 strokes on approach.
He had just a ho-hum putting performance in Round 1 with 1.12 strokes gained with the flat stick. He mastered the incomparable greens of Augusta National once before and will be up to the more difficult weekend conditions of TPC Harding Park.
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Jason Day is atop the leaderboard alongside a resurrected Brendon Todd after the first round of the 102nd PGA Championship.
SAN FRANCISCO – Hindered by an assortment of injuries since his reign as the best player in the world back in 2015 and 2016, Jason Day has struggled at times to keep his spirits up while his body’s well-being has been down.
Chief among his pains have been chronic back issues that have forced him to miss tournaments and severely cut into prep work in the weight room and on the practice ground. After winning 10 PGA Tour titles from 2013 through 2016, he’s won twice since – both coming in 2018. In 32 starts since the onset of 2019, he doesn’t have a top-3 finish. Earlier this year fell to No. 63 in the world and he recently he split with mentor and longtime coach, Collin Swatton.
But heading into the first major of the year, Day awoke and his body healed a bit. In his most recent three starts coming into this week’s PGA Championship, Day posted ties for fourth, sixth and seventh.
Now he’s at the top of the leaderboard alongside a resurrected Brendon Todd after the first round of the 102nd PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
“There was definitely a lot of momentum coming in off the previous finishes that I’ve had,” said Day, who won this championship in 2015, his lone major. “The game feels like it’s coming around. I’m pleased with it.”
Day shot a bogey-free, 5-under-par 65 while Todd, a two-time winner this season, negated his two bogeys with seven birdies. The two were one shot clear of a group that includes four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, two-time major winners Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson, and 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose.
Todd is riding some momentum, too. He’s held two 54-hole leads in the last four tournaments before falling back in the final round. But he has risen from the abyss with two wins in the fall after contemplating quitting the game a couple years back as he battled driver yips and missed 37 of 41 cuts. He has missed the cut in four of the eight majors he’s played, with a tie for 17th his best finish.
“I don’t really compare rounds, but it was one of my better rounds today,” Todd said. “I have a lot of confidence. I’m playing the game of golf really well, not a lot of golf swing going on. That’s the key for me.”
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Koepka has won four of the last 10 majors he’s played and is trying to become the first to win the PGA Championship in three consecutive years since the tournament went to stroke play. Koepka has battled a left knee injury for more than a year (he had a stem-cell procedure last September) but looked fit and his usual powerful self in the first round.
“It’s only 18 holes right now. I feel good. I feel confident,” Koepka said. “I’m excited for the next three days. I can definitely play a lot better, and just need to tidy a few things up, and we’ll be there come Sunday on the back nine.”
Tiger Woods, seeking his fifth Wanamaker Trophy and 16th major, looks like he could be there on the back nine, too, after his 68. Woods has played just one tournament in nearly six months but looked spot on and pain-free. And he looked just fine with a new putter – a Scotty Cameron prototype – that he used instead of his Scotty Cameron that he’s used to win 14 of his 15 majors.
“I made some good putts,” Woods said. “For the most part of the day, I missed the ball on the correct sides. This golf course, you have to hit the ball in the fairway. You get a ball in the rough, into the grain, there’s no chance you can get the ball to the green. I felt like I did a decent job of doing that, and the golf course is only going to get more difficult as the week goes on.”
Getting better
Day has gotten better as the year has gone on. After a stretch of four missed cuts, one withdrawal and a tie for 46th in six starts, he reeled off his trio of top-10s.
“I shouldn’t say I’m not excited,” Day said. “I am excited to come out and play every day, but I know that I can improve, and mainly my putting can improve a little bit more.
Jason Day on the 10th green during the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
“I feel like I’ve been working very hard in the off-weeks and especially when I come to a tournament to be able to get my putting back to where it is because it’s always been a strength of mine, and I feel like the game is slowly coming around, the confidence is coming around because I’m starting to see the results.”
And he’s starting to look forward to the next day. During his painful stretch, which has been mentally draining as well as physically uncomfortable, it’s been tough to get out of bed or off the couch. Now he can’t wait for the sunrise.
“I finally had enough of feeling sorry for myself, and it’s easy to do that in this game because it is so mentally tough,” he said. “You can start blaming everything else but yourself. Sometimes you’ve just got to pull your pants up and just move on, you know.
“I feel like the momentum that I’ve had over the last three starts has kind of seeped into this week. The funny thing is that every day I’m excited to go back to the golf course and play, whereas before I was struggling to get up and going, oh, do I want to kind of put myself through this again. To be honest, I’m excited to get out and play every week now.”
Harding Park will be the first TPC course to host a major championship. This year also marks the first time San Francisco has hosted a PGA Championship.
Tee times
1st tee
Tee time
Players
10 a.m.
Bob Sowards, Kurt Kitayama, Richy Werenski
10:11 a.m.
Haotong Li, Benny Cook, Jorge Campillo
10:22 a.m.
Byeong Hun An, Talor Gooch, Sungjae Im
10:33 a.m.
J.T. Poston, Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III
10:44 a.m.
Ken Tanigawa, Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Tringale
10:55 a.m.
Brian Stuard, Jim Furyk, Billy Horschel
11:06 a.m.
Matt Jones, Jazz Janewattananond, Kevin Streelman
11:17 a.m.
Jimmy Walker, Davis Love III, Keegan Bradley
11:28 a.m.
Cameron Smith, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Champ
11:39 a.m.
Troy Merritt, Wyndham Clark, Chan Kim
11:50 a.m.
Doc Redman, Jason Caron, Brendon Todd
12:01 p.m.
Judd Gibb, Lucas Herbert, Mark Hubbard
12:12 p.m.
Shawn Warren, Marcus Kinhult, Adam Long
3:30 p.m.
Scottie Scheffler, Danny Balin, Tom Hoge
3:41 p.m.
Mike Auterson, Rory Sabbatini, Nick Taylor
3:52 p.m.
Tony Finau, Danny Willett, Patrick Cantlay
4:03 p.m.
Martin Kaymer, Jason Dufner, Jason Day
4:14 p.m.
Daniel Berger, Xander Schauffele, Steve Stricker
4:25 p.m.
Henrik Stenson, Collin Morikawa, Zach Johnson
4:36 p.m.
Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland, Shane Lowry
4:46 p.m.
Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
4:58 p.m.
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas
5:09 p.m.
Louis Oosthuizen, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick
5:20 p.m.
Abraham Ancer, Charl Schwartzel, Joohyung Kim
5:31 p.m.
Corey Conners, Zach J. Johnson, Chez Reavie
5:42 p.m.
Scott Piercy, Alex Knoll, Andrew Putnam
10th tee
Tee time
Players
10:05 a.m.
Tyler Duncan, J.R. Roth, Christaan Bezuidenhout
10:16 a.m.
Lanto Griffin, Rich Berberian, Jr., Joost Luiten
10:27 a.m.
Jim Herman, Rob Labritz, Shaun Norris
10:38 a.m.
Adam Hadwin, Brandt Snedeker, Xinjun Zhang
10:49 a.m.
Kevin Na, Patrick Reed, Robert MacIntyre
11 a.m.
Matthew Wolff, Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell
11:11 a.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama
11:22 a.m.
Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, Adam Scott
11:33 a.m.
Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia
11:44 a.m.
Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson
11:55 a.m.
Matt Wallace, Matt Kuchar, Marc Leishman
12:06 p.m.
Sepp Straka, Ryan Vermeer, Si Woo kim
12:17 p.m.
Sebastian Muñoz, Justin Bertsch, Benjamin Hebert
3:25 p.m.
Brian Harman, Jeff Hart, C.T. Pan
3:36 p.m.
Andrew Landry, Rod Perry, Nate Lashley
3:47 p.m.
Sung Kang, John O’Leary, Dylan Frittelli
3:58 p.m.
Erik van Rooyen, Russell Henley, Carlos Ortiz
4:09 p.m.
Ryan Palmer, Kevin Kisner, Michael Thompson
4:20 p.m.
Bud Cauley, Lucas Glover, Tyrrell Hatton
4:31 p.m.
Alex Beach, Rich Beem, Shaun Micheel
4:42 p.m.
Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ryo Ishikawa, Jason Kokrak
4:53 p.m.
Bernd Wiesberger, Danny Lee, Alex Noren
5:04 p.m.
Keith Mitchell, Marrhias Schwab, Brendan Steele
5:15 p.m.
Joel Dahmen, Luke List, Victor Perez
5:26 p.m.
Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Marty Jertson, Tom Lewis
5:37 p.m.
David Muttitt, Mackenzie Hughes, Harris English
TV, streaming information
Friday, Aug. 7
Second round Featured Groups: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ESPN+.
Second round TV coverage: 4 – 10 p.m., ESPN.
Second round coverage: 4 – 10 p.m., SiriusXM (Channel 208 or 92).
PGA Championship Clubhouse Report: 10 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Third round Featured Group 1 (one morning, one afternoon): 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., ESPN+.
Third round Featured Group 2 (one morning, one afternoon): 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., ESPN+.
Third round TV coverage: 1 – 4 p.m., ESPN.
CBS Sports special “We Need To Talk”, breaking down the PGA Championship. Panelists Tracy Wolfson, Swin Cash, Amanda Balionis and Dottie Pepper will be joined by Michelle Wie West and PGA of America President Suzy Whaley: 3 p.m., CBS.
Final round coverage: 3 – 10 p.m., SiriusXM (Channel 208 or 92).
Final round Featured Hole (No. 18): 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., ESPN+.
PGA Championship Clubhouse Report: 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
Bryson DeChambeau accidentally snapped the head of his driver after a tee shot on his first nine at the PGA Championship.
As if the setting in San Francisco isn’t surreal enough — no fans, swooping cypress trees, winter golf gear — Bryson DeChambeau stepped in during Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship and broke the internet.
DeChambeau accidentally snapped the head off his driver after a tee shot on the front nine at Harding Park.
It appeared that DeChambeau simply leaned on the shaft and severed the head.
Bryson DeChambeau breaks his driver. Head fell off as he leaned on it to bend over and grab his tee. The man is simply too strong. pic.twitter.com/V6mydZPLVt
DeChambeau, who has been breaking clubhead-speed records, said on the ESPN broadcast, “It was bound to break. I’ve been using it for a long time.”
The incident didn’t seem to impact DeChambeau, who went on to par that hole (no. 7) and rolled in a birdie on No. 9 to make the turn at 32.
He was able to replace the driver.
In 2019, the USGA and the R&A released a clarification of Rule G-9 and a Local Rule, “allowing players to replace a broken or significantly damaged club, except in the case of abuse.”
Under the change, clubs are defined as being “broken or significantly damaged” if specific criteria are met, like if the shaft breaks into pieces or splinters, the face or clubhead deforms, the grip is loose or the clubhead detaches or loosens from the shaft.
Bryson DeChambeau accidentally broke his driver on the 7th hole. He'll be allowed to replace it.
Brooks Koepka is bidding for his fifth career major title and third PGA Championsip win in a row.
Brooks Koepka is sitting pretty in his quest for a three-peat at the PGA Championship. Koepka opened with a 4-under 66, just one off the pace set by former PGA champion Jason Day.
Koepka is well aware of the historical significance that is at stake this week as he attempts to become the first in the stroke-play era of the PGA to win three Wanamaker trophies in a row, and the first player overall to win the same major three consecutive years since Australian Peter Thomson achieved the feat at the British Open (1954-56).
“It would be special,” Koepka said. “I think there’s, what, six guys that have ever won three in a row. Yeah, not a bad list to be on.”
Koepka hasn’t won since the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black last May and endured a stem-cell treatment to his left knee in September. Koepka has conceded that the knee is still bothering him, but he made a breakthrough with his golf swing after missing the cut at the 3M Open two weeks ago. He spent Sunday with instructor Pete Cowen, who returned from England for the first time since the coronavirus suspended the golf season in March.
“To be honest with you, it was probably the first time I think I hit 40 balls and there was a club 70 yards behind me. I chucked it and then threw one in front of me. I was pretty heated, to say the right word,” Koepka said.
One day later, he worked with Claude Harmon III and discovered that his weight distribution was out of whack.
“At impact I’m about 70 percent on my left side, and when we were looking at it, it was the opposite. It was 70 percent on the right side. We knew what we had to do was get on that left side, and it’s been good since,” he said.
Koepka, a four-time major winner, fired 62 in the opening round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and finished tied for second last week. He led the St. Jude field in greens hit and Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. When asked to describe the progression of his game the last three weeks, Koepka said, “Getting there. It’s getting a lot better. I mean, I feel right where I should be. If you would have said last week and this week, I’d feel perfect, right where I need to be. I’m excited. I’m ready to play. But you asked for three weeks, so it’s been okay. There was a missed cut in there.”
Koepka, who started on the back nine at TPC Harding Park, started sluggishly with a bogey at the first, but he came alive with back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14 and a pair of 11-foot birdies at Nos. 16 and 18.
Koepka gave a stroke back at the first, but he tacked on two birdies on his inward nine, at the second and fourth. With his fifth straight round in the 60s, Koepka’s confidence is growing.
“Just had that one shot that I can’t get on my left side, and it usually goes right there on 1,” Koepka said. “It’s only 18 holes right now. I feel good. I feel confident. I’m excited for the next three days. I think I can definitely play a lot better, and just need to tidy a few things up, and we’ll be there come Sunday on the back nine.”
Two-time major winner Zach Johnson looked completely at ease with TPC Harding Park on a day when conditions eased a bit.
For a brief spell during Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship, there was Zach Johnson whether you looked up or down the leaderboard.
Two-time major champ Zach Johnson rode a hot putter to 31 on his opening nine (he started on the back) and was in the lead for a good portion of the early afternoon.
Zach J. Johnson, a club pro from Salt Lake City, Utah, didn’t fare quite as well, posting three double-bogeys en route to an 82, and was at the very bottom.
It was the best of times, it was … never mind.
As for the Johnson, who won the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship, he looked completely at ease with TPC Harding Park on a day when conditions eased a bit. After fog and chilly temperatures made practice rounds a bit more challenging, the course loosened up on Thursday as sunny skies and warm temps prevailed.
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Johnson, who has a dozen PGA Tour wins to his credit, seized the opportunity to post an early number.
“I feel like this is a course where you’ve got to get the ball in the fairway, and the driver for me is important, and then obviously after that, it’s around the greens chipping, and obviously making putts,” he said. “Today I putted great. Even some of the putts I missed today looked really good. Pretty solid. There wasn’t anything overly flashy, just solid.”
Johnson started on the back nine Thursday, and used consecutive birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to make the turn at 31.
His second nine was simply steady, a 21-foot putt on No. 3 his loan birdie as he finished with a 4-under 66, good enough to trail only Jason Day from the early groups.
“I hit some shots close and then obviously started to make some putts and the confidence came. The greens just seem to be a little bit faster today. Granted, as the week goes on they should get faster,” he said. “My speed, if anything, I was leaving them short in my practice rounds, and if I thought about, oh, man, don’t leave it short, then you knock it way by. It just felt like the speed was where it should be today.
“But I putted great. It didn’t matter if I made it or missed it. I think I maybe had two two-putts on the back if I’m not mistaken, maybe one. A couple fringes, a couple easy chips, but I just gave myself opportunities for the most part.”
Heading into Friday, Johnson knows he’ll need to replicate his success on the greens by getting into proper position. As is his MO, Johnson averaged just over 280 yards off the tee on Thursday, but at the time he left the course he was first in strokes gained putting.
To contend for a third major, he’ll need to repeat that formula.
Zach J. Johnson played a practice round with two-time major winner Zach Johnson on Wednesday.
“Yeah, hitting fairways and … for me, trying to commit to just one of two shots: It’s my stock shot, which is a draw, or it’s kind of a push,” he said. “Keep it that simple because if there’s anything I’ve ever told anybody — I actually told a couple young guys this week on the phone and in person — you don’t have to manipulate or change your game just because it’s a major.
“So I’m trying to keep it simple. That’s the best way I can put it.”
As for club pro Zach J. Johnson, he struggled on Thursday, but his biggest thrill came during Wednesday’s practice round. Since the two had been paired on a Zoom call in advance of the PGA Championship, the duo — which had met briefly at Bellerive Country Club in the PGA Championship two years ago — said they’d try to play together in San Francisco and that’s exactly what happened.
“He’s just a very solid guy – very welcoming, very personable, and willing to help,” Zach J. said of the two-time major winner.
Kaymer watched video of his greatest moment winning the 2014 U.S. Open on the eve of the PGA Championship, putter keyed his strong start.
Martin Kaymer doesn’t like to live in the past, but on the eve of the 102nd PGA Championship, the first major in more than a year, he couldn’t help but think back to the time when he lapped the field at the 2014 U.S. Open. In fact, when he got back from dinner, he watched his triumph at Pinehurst Resort.
“I thought I needed to lift my spirit a little bit. And I went on YouTube and I found that video, I think it’s an hour and 45 minutes or so, of us playing the back nine,” he said. “I mean, there’s not much to do right now other than hanging out in your hotel room by yourself.”
It did the trick. Kaymer signed for 4-under 66 in the opening round of the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Kaymer practically won his second major championship in 2014 by Friday, blitzing the field by eight strokes. Yet, Kaymer, 35, hasn’t won any event since and has plummeted to No. 128 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“That video from last night, me winning the U.S. Open, that helped me to believe that my putting was good enough; that my ball-striking was good enough,” Kaymer said.
His putter was better than good on Thursday. After an early bogey at the 11th, Kaymer’s second hole of the day, he stuck an iron to 4 feet at No. 14 for his first birdie of the day. Then the putter started warming up from long distance. Kaymer poured in a 22-foot birdie putt at 17, a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 1 and a 23-foot birdie putt at No. 3.
Kaymer wasn’t done yet. He jumped into the lead when he made his longest putt of the day, a 47-foot eagle putt at No. 4 after hitting a bullet 3-wood to the back of the green.
“It was still quite far away, so you’re thinking maybe two-putt birdie would be great, then it went in,” Kaymer said.
For good measure, he canned a 21-foot par putt at 5. Not even a bogey at the last hole could dampen Kaymer’s enthusiasm for his play.
“I was very pleased with my putting,” said Kaymer, who holed 163 feet of putts. “That really saved the round today.”
If I told you on the day Martin Kaymer won the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst by a whopping 8 strokes that six years later he wouldn’t have won since would you have believed me?
The 2010 PGA champion, who has only one top-10 in a major since winning the U.S. Open in 2014, spent most of golf’s three-month suspension of play in his native Germany helping his father build a terrace at the family home.
“We were not allowed to play golf for two or three months, so I had to keep my mind occupied with different stuff, living life like a normal person,” Kaymer said.
He missed the cut last week at the Barracuda Championship, his first start since the resumption of play in June. While he still is finding his rhythm, Kaymer turned back the clocks with shades of the form that made him a two-time major winner.
“Even though it’s a few years back, it’s always nice to remember those moments and feel the same that you felt that day,” Kaymer said of watching his highlights from his greatest victory. “I like to go back to those moments. I know you shouldn’t live in the past, but if the past can help you in the present moment, I’ll take it.”
Tiger Woods opened the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park with overall solid play and a few brilliant shots.
The term “variety show” used in reference to Tiger Woods can sometimes conjure up a grimace. Woods, when he’s struggling, has a tendency to be all over the map.
But on Thursday, Woods’ opening 2-under 68 at TPC Harding Park in the first round of the PGA Championship played out in stages. Starting on No. 10, Woods demonstrated a real control over his golf ball early in the day, shaping his drive left around the corner at the par-4 12th and then following it up with a handy cut at the next hole, a dogleg right.
He got it to 2 under at the 14th tee before losing control, starting with a drive to deep left rough on that hole.
After missing the fairway at No. 14, Woods didn’t hit one again until No. 5.
There were hacks out of the rough (with none appearing to cause any harm to his fragile back) but also deft pitch shots, stuffed approaches, par saves and near misses. Under early hazy skies in the San Francisco Bay Area – and without the usual stampede that would surround Woods at a major – he seemed in control the entire day even though his play never reached the point of flashy.
He reached 3 under with a birdie on No. 7, promptly dumped his approach into the par-3 eighth in a bunker and despite facing just a few feet for par, walked away with a bogey.
Woods blistered his final drive at No. 9 and walked away with one final par that left him inside the top 20 with much of the field still yet to finish.
In all, it was a round that suggests this week might have a little of that old Woods-at-a-major magic.
