Tiger Woods Rebounds With Opening 66 at Greenbrier
Tiger Woods, the 14-time major champion posted his best first-round score of 2015 by seven strokes. It was also his first round in the 60s since the Masters.
Tiger Woods shook off a late double-bogey with birdies at his last three holes to post a four-under par 66 in the first round of the Greenbrier Classic on Thursday.
The 14-time major champion posted his best first-round score of 2015 by seven strokes. (Tiger Woods Promises Progress)
It was also his first round in the 60s since the Masters, where rounds of 69 and 68 in the second and third helped him finish tied for 17th.
By the time Woods birdied the ninth hole of the Old White TPC course both England's Brian Davis and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa were in the clubhouse on six-under 64.
But it was an encouraging start in what has been the worst season of Woods's career.
Last month he missed the cut at the US Open at Chambers Bay with rounds of 80 and 76 -- his worst-ever 36-hole performance.
Another missed cut this week -- in his only tune-up for the British Open at St. Andrews in a fortnight -- would mark the first time in 21 years that Woods missed the cut in back-to-back starts.
Woods teed off on 10 and got to three-under with birdies at 12, 15 and 16 before giving a stroke back at the par-five 17th.
After a birdie at the par-four second, Woods dropped two shots at the par-four sixth, where he was in the rough off the tee and in a greenside bunker with his approach shot.
"Wasn't good, making a double there," Woods said, adding that he told caddie Joey LaCava "We're just playing too well to be at one-under par."
He was hoping to get back to three-under for the round "And we happened to pull off a hat-trick coming home," he said.
The former world number one finished strongly, however, landing his approach within four feet for birdie at the seventh, draining an 18-footer at the eighth and rolling in a 19-foot birdie effort at the ninth.
It was the first time he'd birdied three on the trot since the Players Championship in May.
He hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, needing just 25 putts.
"I hit the ball well all day, until a couple of loose tee shots at the end," he said.