Tiger Woods: Solid 1st Round Is a Great Sign Tiger Is on His Game

Tiger Woods did not dig himself a hole in the first round of the U.S. Open. That is a bad sign for the rest of the field.

It cannot be overstated how difficult a course the Olympic Club is. Tiger's one-under 69 on Day 1 is cause for rejoice.

Woods had only two bogeys—one on No .6 and the other on No. 14. On most days that would equal a mediocre showing, but in this tournament it has him among the early leaders.

The winner of this tournament will be the player that minimizes mistakes, plays smart and takes only calculated risks. It's going to be a survival of the fittest, and Tiger is shaping up nicely through one day.

Jonathan Wall of Yahoo! Sports quotes Bubba Watson, who proclaimed the "old Tiger" was back after watching Tiger's opening round:

"Yeah, Tiger played pretty good," Watson said. "That was the old Tiger. It was beautiful to watch. That's what we all come to see ... that's what we all wanna watch. It was awesome to see him strike the ball like he did."

I concur.

Golf was better when Tiger was great, and if he captures the U.S. Open, it will set things back as they should be. Wall went on to point out that Woods did something yesterday he hasn't done since he was winning majors: starting strong.

I agree with him, and I pointed out the importance of getting a good start in one of my U.S. Open previews. I make reference to starting strong on the first hole, but conceptually it carries over to the entire first day.

Tiger's confidence has to be as high as its been since he came back to the game. I expect him to be in the hunt all four days. If he captures the lead at any point, I think he'll run away with it.

At that point, the sport is on notice for the last two majors of the year.

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