Tiger Woods Tied for the Lead After First Round of TOUR Championship

Tiger Woods finished the first round of the TOUR Championship on Thursday with a 4-under-par 66, tied with Justin Rose for the lead.

SI Golf Group tweeted:

"

Tiger Woods (-4) finishes with a 66, tied for the lead with Justin Rose @playofffinale. Rory, Phil among group at -1 bit.ly/UtVaIw

— SI Golf Group (@si_golf) September 20, 2012"

Woods had six birdies and two bogeys on the day, scoring an even par on each of the last two holes.

Woods has had his best season since 2008 this year, racking up eight top-10 finishes and three victories. At his most recent tournaments, the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship, he finished third and fourth, respectively.

Tiger ranks second on the PGA Tour in scoring average, seventh in birdies, 17th in greens-in-regulation percentage, 26th in putting (strokes gained) and 34th in driving distance, via PGATour.com.

But perhaps what has been even more impressive is that he's ranked 45th in driving accuracy, which has always been a weakness for him—even in the years when he was dominating the tour. His best ranking in this category prior to this year was 54th, and that was all the way back in 2000.

It offers hope for Tiger and those who want him to bounce back after a few rugged years (both on and off the course). There's no denying that he's been much better overall this year, even if he hasn't been able to capture a major championship (his best finish was third at the British Open).

Of course, there is one thing to note as Woods starts off in grand fashion at the TOUR Championship. He ranks second on the tour in scoring average before the cut this year, but he ranks 53rd in the third round and 23rd in the final round.