Tiger Woods over Par Again; so Are Many of World's Best at Players

Tiger Woods posted what had to be a disappointing +2 in the first round of The Players Championship.

“Any kind of momentum that I would build, I would shoot myself in the foot on the very next hole,” Woods said after his round. 

He was not alone, as the nine best players in the world were a collective +8 in the first round of The Players. Woods attributed his high score to an inability to take advantage of the par fives.

“Where most of the guys are long enough where week-in and week-out, you can get to most of the par 5s, and that usually determines how you finish in a tournament,” he explained. “I certainly need to do a better job of that.”

He birdied one of the four. In addition, he had five bogeys, which is uncharacteristic, balanced by three birdies.

He said he hit “decent shots” into the greens, but was unable to score.

“My good shots ended up in bad spots,” he said, “and, obviously, my bad shots ended up in worse spots.”

On the 11th, the first par five on the back, he went for the green in two. He was in between a 3-iron and a 4-iron. “I slammed that 4 as hard as I could hit it, and I hit the big ball first and then the little ball.”  (Earth before golf ball.)

However, he felt that the course was gettable, citing Ian Poulter’s round of 65. Martin Laird finished later at the same number.

“Obviously, in the last few months, I’ve put together some good rounds, won a couple tournaments,” Woods analyzed. “It’s there. I just need to continue to do it.”    

He felt he should have been one or two under par for the round instead of +2.

Hunter Mahan spiced up things Wednesday with comments about Tiger Woods’ knowledge of his own golf swing before coming to Sean Foley, who is guru to both of them.   

“His knowledge of the game was so bad, which was shocking to me,” Mahan said.  “Telling me what he was trying to do, I was just kind of confused and like, how can a guy this good not know anything about his swing and how wrong he is.” 

They both work with the same coach, Sean Foley.

Mahan went on to say Woods has made great strides and is now fourth in total driving.

“Whoever thought Tiger Woods would be fourth in total driving?” Mahan asked. “That is an incredible stat, and that shows the work he’s done and the work Foley has done to be fourth in total driving. I think his ball striking is really good. I just don’t think he’s playing well. I don’t think he’s scoring as well as he used to.”

Mahan pointed out Woods’ short game, where he used to get up and down out of other counties to make birdies and pars, has not been as sharp as it was previously. In addition, from inside ten feet, Woods was miraculous in the past, and these days, he is not making every putt.  

“How many times did you watch him play and you’re like, you know this is going down, and it went right in the middle. It’s just not happening like that anymore.”  Mahan pointed out.  “I think it’s because he’s working so hard on his swing to get it manageable to where he can kind of get it around the golf course and play better, and I think he’s done that. It comes down to making a few up-and-downs and making a few putts, and I think he’s very capable of making putts. We’ve all seen it.”

Woods is tied for 100th. He will have to move up 30 spots tomorrow to make the cut.

Speaking of Tough

The TPC Sawgrass was playing tough, tough enough to cause some WDs.

Angel Cabrera pulled out for personal reasons, which some said were mainly the nine he posted on the 17th hole. He just kept hitting them in the water. First shot 115 yards, 12 short of the pin. Third shot, 57 yards, 15 yards short of the pin. Fifth shot, 59 yards, 13 yards short of the pin. Seventh shot, 79 yards, on the green 15 feet away. Eight shot, rolled a foot beyond the hole. Ninth shot in. It’s not the record there though. That distinction, a 12, belongs to Bob Tway. 

Paul Casey withdrew with a shoulder problem. He was +6 through nine holes at the time.

Simon Dyson said he had a back. He actually finished the entire 18 holes, but was +4.

D.A. Points had back spasms on the range prior to teeing off. 

Fred Couples withdrew Tuesday with illness. 

We should not be surprised, as this is one course professional golfers love to hate.