Tiger Woods: Golf Icon Will Falter Late at Wells Fargo Championship

Despite superb conditions at Quail Hollow on Thursday, Tiger Woods was not able to take advantage, scoring a one-under par 71 in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Few golfers struggled on Thursday, with temperatures in the 90s and little breeze, but Woods was merely average...literally. The average score on Thursday was 71.72, the lowest for the first round in the 10-year history of the tournament.

And it's only going to get worse from here.

With rainy weather expected for the weekend, Woods continues to look like a shade of his former dominant self. After his Masters "performance," in which he tied for 40th place (worst finish at Augusta in his career), Woods looked like the same guy at Quail Hollow.

Through one round of play, Woods is tied for 56th place, six strokes behind leaders Ryan Moore, Stewart Cink and Webb Simpson. He scored three birdies and three bogeys on Thursday, scoring even par on the rest of the holes. Again, average.

Thursday was the day for Woods to bounce back from his embarrassing Masters performance. The conditions were perfect, and a plethora of golfers enjoyed good rounds.

But he faltered, and it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. We were encouraged by his second-place finish at the Honda Classic and his victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he has proven since then that he still doesn't have the mental game to rise back to the top. His average score on Thursday was fitting because he's become one of many golfers with a chance to win a tournament these days.

Webb Simpson said he was nervous paired up with Tiger in the opening round, via ESPN, but all he did was jump out to the lead while Tiger struggled. Tiger simply doesn't incite fear in his competition anymore, and that was evident on Thursday. He has lost the magical aura he once had, along with much more.

With stormy weather ahead at Quail Hollow, Tiger's first-round score may actually look decent compared to how he finishes at the Wells Fargo Championship this year.

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