GREG CHALMERS SETS FIRST-ROUND PACE WITH A 66
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TIGER WOODS FEELS 'FANTASTIC'
IN RETURN WITH A 74
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
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Tiger Woods rebounded after a rocky front nine with birdies on three of his last six holes during his first round. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BETHESDA, Maryland -- Tiger Woods joked that he, Jason Day and Jordan
Spieth were just trying to break 80 on Thursday during the first round
of the Quicken Loans National.
"Unfortunately we didn't see a lot of each other on the (first) nine,"
Woods said of the trio, who rank Nos. 5, 6 and 9, respectively, in the world, but posted surprising 4-over 39s on their first nines.
"... It was a bit of a fight today for all of us but we all hung in there."
"It just looked like the lid was closed on the hole," Spieth agreed. "But once we all started hitting a couple fairways, it got better at the end."
All three were well off the pace set by Greg Chalmers with a 66 -- Day shooting 73 and Woods and Spieth fighting back for 74s -- but at least the players in the day's marquee group could take some positives away from the first round.
And no one needed them more than the comeback kid. Woods, who bogeyed his first two holes to set the tone for the day, was 6 over through 12 holes at Congressional before looking a little like his old self with three birdies in his final six.
"Unfortunately we didn't see a lot of each other on the (first) nine,"
Woods said of the trio, who rank Nos. 5, 6 and 9, respectively, in the world, but posted surprising 4-over 39s on their first nines.
"... It was a bit of a fight today for all of us but we all hung in there."
"It just looked like the lid was closed on the hole," Spieth agreed. "But once we all started hitting a couple fairways, it got better at the end."
All three were well off the pace set by Greg Chalmers with a 66 -- Day shooting 73 and Woods and Spieth fighting back for 74s -- but at least the players in the day's marquee group could take some positives away from the first round.
And no one needed them more than the comeback kid. Woods, who bogeyed his first two holes to set the tone for the day, was 6 over through 12 holes at Congressional before looking a little like his old self with three birdies in his final six.
The round was Woods' first in competition since he shot a 78 in the
final round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship on
March 9.
Shortly afterwards, he had microdiscectomy surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his back.
Woods has only been hitting full shots for several weeks, and he acknowledged earlier this week that he probably wouldn't have played the Quicken Loans National had this not been the tournament he hosts, with a new sponsor on board. But the doctors told him the chance of further injury was "minimal" so Woods welcomed the chance to get back in competition.
"The back's great," Woods said after his round. "I had no issues at all. No twinges, no nothing. It felt fantastic. That's one of the reasons why I let go on those tee shots. I hit it pretty hard out there."
Woods was solid off the tee, too -- hitting nine of 14 fairways. He missed eight greens, though, was 0-for-2 in sand saves and used 31 putts -- which is the area Woods said he spent the most time on during his rehabilitation.
But it was a good start, and Woods said he started to get dialed in on his second nine.
"I think the hard part was just getting into the rhythm of playing competitively," Woods said. "You play with your buddies all day for cash and stuff but it's just not the same. It's not the same as tournament golf, different level.
"Adrenaline is rushing and I hit the ball further out here than I do at home. Try to get the numbers, try to get the feels. Didn't start happening until midway through my front nine."
The gallery was somewhat subdued but supportive of Woods and his playing partners. Three fans wore orange t-shirts with the words "He's Back" across the chest.
After his sixth bogey, a fan yelled out encouragement: "Keep trying, Tiger, keep trying." And the cheers racketed up considerably when he starting hitting it close on the back nine.
"It was great to see everyone behind Tiger welcoming him back and wishing him well," Spieth said. "He said that he's feeling great. He said it's a little different starting out and he finally found his rhythm and we saw what happens when he found his rhythm there. So look for a pretty solid round tomorrow out of him. Wouldn't be surprised if he shoots a few under."
Day, who missed three months with a thumb injury earlier this year, knows first-hand how good it feels to shake the rust off.
"You miss competing and playing against the best," the young Aussie said. "There's no better feeling when you're competing and playing well and winning.
"I'm just assuming that he missed that and he's just glad to be back out and finally able to hit golf balls at 100 percent without any pain."
Shortly afterwards, he had microdiscectomy surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his back.
Woods has only been hitting full shots for several weeks, and he acknowledged earlier this week that he probably wouldn't have played the Quicken Loans National had this not been the tournament he hosts, with a new sponsor on board. But the doctors told him the chance of further injury was "minimal" so Woods welcomed the chance to get back in competition.
"The back's great," Woods said after his round. "I had no issues at all. No twinges, no nothing. It felt fantastic. That's one of the reasons why I let go on those tee shots. I hit it pretty hard out there."
Woods was solid off the tee, too -- hitting nine of 14 fairways. He missed eight greens, though, was 0-for-2 in sand saves and used 31 putts -- which is the area Woods said he spent the most time on during his rehabilitation.
But it was a good start, and Woods said he started to get dialed in on his second nine.
"I think the hard part was just getting into the rhythm of playing competitively," Woods said. "You play with your buddies all day for cash and stuff but it's just not the same. It's not the same as tournament golf, different level.
"Adrenaline is rushing and I hit the ball further out here than I do at home. Try to get the numbers, try to get the feels. Didn't start happening until midway through my front nine."
The gallery was somewhat subdued but supportive of Woods and his playing partners. Three fans wore orange t-shirts with the words "He's Back" across the chest.
After his sixth bogey, a fan yelled out encouragement: "Keep trying, Tiger, keep trying." And the cheers racketed up considerably when he starting hitting it close on the back nine.
"It was great to see everyone behind Tiger welcoming him back and wishing him well," Spieth said. "He said that he's feeling great. He said it's a little different starting out and he finally found his rhythm and we saw what happens when he found his rhythm there. So look for a pretty solid round tomorrow out of him. Wouldn't be surprised if he shoots a few under."
Day, who missed three months with a thumb injury earlier this year, knows first-hand how good it feels to shake the rust off.
"You miss competing and playing against the best," the young Aussie said. "There's no better feeling when you're competing and playing well and winning.
"I'm just assuming that he missed that and he's just glad to be back out and finally able to hit golf balls at 100 percent without any pain."
LEADER CHALMERS HAD ONLY 25 PUTTS
DRIVING AWAY: The 25 putts were nice but truth be told, the new Titleist 915 driver Greg Chalmers put into his bag this week might have been the key to Thursday's 66 that earned Greg Chalmers the lead at the Quicken Loans National.
Chalmers, who came into the week ranked 149th in driving accuracy on TOUR, didn't miss a fairway on the back nine, which was his first of the day, as he vaulted up the leaderboard and turned in 33.
His lone bogey came on the par-3 second hole but the Aussie closed his round out with three straight birdie putts, all within 6 feet, starting at No. 7.
"I hit every fairway on my first nine holes, and I think I barely missed two on the other nine and I missed one by a couple of feet," Chalmers said.
"So I really drove the ball probably the best I've driven it all year. That was kind of exciting and that kind of setup the rest of the round, finishing with three straight birdies is always nice."
Chalmers said he had perfect yardages on the final three holes after changing the lofts on all his wedges this week.
"When things are not going right, you start trying different things," he explained. "I had a big gap in my wedges and yardages and I wanted to try and address that, so I put a 58 in instead of a 62 and dialled a few other things down and changed shafts in my irons about a month ago.
" I played nicely today. I did a lot of things right and I'm pleased. I'm very pleased."
Chalmers, who only has one top-10 finish this year, has always been a solid putter. He led the TOUR in strokes gained-putting last year and ranks fifth this year. But he knows he needs a more well-rounded game to be successful.
"If you look at who wins tournaments each week, they do a lot more than (putt well)," Chalmers said. "I'm a great story for that because I led strokes gained last year but finished (97th) on the FedExCup. It's not everything and I have to work hard on the other parts of my game.
"If I have a day like today where I strike the ball well, I can shoot a low number."
THANKS ARE IN ORDER: At the very least, Hudson Swafford may need to send William McGirt a thank-you note. And if the former Georgia University standout should go on to win the Quicken Loans National on Sunday, who knows? A gift might work better.
Swafford, who started the week as the first alternate, now has as good a chance as anyone in the field of 120 after shooting a 69 in the first round. But he didn't find out he'd be teeing it up at Congressional until Wednesday when McGirt withdrew.
The timing was even better after that tie for 24th at the Travelers Championship last week, too.
"Feels great," Swafford said. "Can't thank Billy McGirt enough for letting me in. No, I really saw it last week and just kind of building off of it.
"Was just kind of anxious. I was first-alt last Friday and I knew that, and I knew I was playing good, doing some good things and just wanted a chance.
"I love this place. It's a great golf course, tough. Can't get ahead of yourself or you can sort of make a couple bogeys quick. (I) just gave myself a lot of chances."
LEADING SCORES
Players from USA unless stated
66 Greg Chalmers (Australia)
67 Ricky Barnes, Freddie Jacobson
68 Patrick Reed, Erik Compton, Bill Haas, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Hudson Swafford, Nick Watney, George McNeill, Billy Hurley, Spencer Levin, Retief Goosen (S Africa), Michael Putnam.
SELECTED SCORES
72 Brian Davis (England) (T43)
73 Russell Knox (Scotland), Ernie Els (S Africa) (T62)
74 Tiger Woods, Justin Rose (England) (T83)
75 Martin Laird (T102)
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Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, June 27, 2014
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