After missing the first two majors of the year, Tiger Woods is back at it again. Before the day began, many questioned whether Woods would be healthy enough after having back surgery in March. After a 6 birdie, 3 bogey performance, that was out of the question. Woods went on to shoot a 69 after a bogey, bogey start.
“I knew I could do it,” Woods said. “That’s why I was telling you guys it was so important for me to play at Congressional. The fact that I was able to recover every day, and the fact that I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played.
“I’m only going to get better from that point. And I’m getting stronger, I’m getting faster, I’m getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again. And those are all positive things.”
His playing partners didn’t start off too hot. Henrik Stenson, the reigning Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup champion and #2 player in the world, ended with a -1 (71). Two-time Major champion Angel Cabrera had a tougher time with a +4 (76).
All in all, The Open’s opening round has showed us quite a bit of the “vintage” Tiger. Great play and yelling at photographers. But let’s not discount the fact that the photographers should know much better than to disrupt Woods in mid-swing. Mr. Photographer, that was a big no-no.
Despite little disruptions and the great round he had, Woods has also shown us that even what we perceive as perfection can still be improved.
“Pretty much everything,” he said when asked what he should work on. “I need to get everything a little bit better. That’s the case all of time, anyways. But at Congressional, I made just some terrible mistakes mentally. My decisions weren’t very crisp and I wasn’t decisive enough. Today was totally different. And consequently I shot a better score.”
Rory McIlroy shot up the leaderboard, landing on the very top with a blazing -6 (66). McIlroy played the par-5s at -3, which can become a huge factor as the tournament progresses.
“It was pretty stress-free, to be honest,” McIlroy told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi after his round.
To put McIlroy’s round into perspective:
Both Nike athletes are off to great starts. Can we see one come out on top? Will it be the legend win his first Major since the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines or will the young gun hold on for his third?
PS: The last time The Open was played at Royal Liverpool, Tiger came out victorious.
Photo Credit: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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