Tiger Woods Arrives at The Barclays For Pro-Am Round

JERSEY CITY, NJ - Considering the fact that Y.E. Yang—the man who stole major number 15 from right under his nose just 10 days ago at Hazeltine—was hitting balls less than 20 feet from him, and the rest of the range was infested with Wall Street big-wigs who probably cost him countless millions over the past year, Tiger Woods looked exceptionally calm as he began warming up on the range at around seven this morning.

Woods went through his bag while having a laugh with Fred Couples, hit a few putts, and then walked the short distance over to the first tee box where he would see Liberty National for the very first time.  

Woods striped a 5-wood right down the middle of the fairway while one playing partner hit a hospitality tent on the left, and the other could only wish he was so lucky, as his ball flew clear over the row of hospitality tents lining the left side of the hole.  

Scheduled to tee off directly after Woods, Mickelson could only sit by and watch helplessly as 90 percent of the gallery filled with his so-called loyal tri-state area fans, took off after Woods rather than stick around to cheer on "lefty."

Yells of “fore” could be heard radiating from every corner of the golf course.

Luckily for Woods, he happened to be checking out the refreshment stand after hitting his tee shot on the par-three fourth, otherwise the shank hit by an amateur in Mickelson’s group could have gotten him right on the noggin, or even worse, the left knee.

After Woods’ tee shot on the par-five sixth, he walked the 10 yards or so over to the eigth tee box and had a word with Presidents Cup captain, Fred Couples.

It’s one thing for an amateur to attempt to hit a decent shot with Fred Couples looking on; add Woods into the equation and the poor guy didn’t stand a chance—he hit his drive directly into a marsh that was sitting no more than 20 yards in front of the tee box.

Tee-to-green, Woods looked as sharp as ever. He only missed a couple of fairways and greens all day and seemed to have legitimate birdie opportunities on nearly every hole.

On the greens, however, Woods’ putter still had the Hazeltine hangover.

Woods missed very makeable birdie putts on the second, third, and 11th, and then three putted for bogeys at both the fifth and seventh.

Granted, today was just a pro-am round, and a very long one at that. 

This morning was the first time Woods had ever stepped foot onto Liberty National, and like any course, it takes some time to get acquainted with the greens.

To win this week, Woods will have to putt significantly better than he did this morning, and no one knows that more than Woods himself.  Following his round, he spent over an hour on the practice putting green with caddie Steve Williams.

Liberty National has not received the most flattering reviews so far this week, and Woods could only describe the course as “interesting” with a slight smirk on his face during his press conference.

Woods has won on virtually every style of golf course there is.  Perhaps his sixth win of the 2009 season and 71st of his storied career will come at an “interesting” course.