Anyone expecting a new and improved version of Tiger Woods saw much of the same old thing Thursday in his first appearance in a Fall Series event.
An early birdie to raise hopes. A sudden tumble. And he couldn’t make a putt.
In his first tournament in seven weeks, Woods went 13 holes between his two birdies at the Frys.com Open and shot a 2-over 73 that put him in danger of missing consecutive cuts for the first time in his pro career.
“That’s probably one of the worst putting rounds I’ve ever had,” Woods said. “I can’t putt the ball any worse than I did today.”
Texas Open winner Brendan Steele opened with a 4-under 67 on a cool day at CordeValle, near San Jose, Calif., with a few bursts of showers. He was joined in the lead by Briny Baird, Garrett Willis and Matt Bettencourt.
Woods fell out of the top 50 in the world ranking this week for the first time in 15 years, and it showed. The best golf in his group came from UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the No. 1 amateur in the world, who opened with a 2-under 69 to tie Olympia’s Andres Gonzales for 11th.
Woods was tied for 86th, although he was only one shot out of the top 70 and ties that advance to the weekend. It marked the sixth straight round in which he failed to break par.
He had not played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August, finishing out of the top 100 for the first time in a major. Woods said the time off at least gave him time to practice, nail down his swing changes with Sean Foley and play 36 holes a day at home in Florida.
“I hit some bad shots, yes,” Woods said. “But also, I hit some really good ones. ... But I got nothing out of the round on the greens. And whatever momentum I could have gotten by hitting good shots ... you know, I just missed putts.”
The last time Woods missed consecutive cuts in a PGA Tour event was in 1994, when he was an 18-year-old amateur. In fact, he missed his first seven cuts as an amateur. On the PGA Tour, he has missed the 36-hole cut only seven times in his career.
ON COURSE
England’s Ross McGowan shot an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Madrid Masters in Spain. …
Defending champion Y.E. Yang shot a 4-under 67 to share the lead with Rickie Fowler after the first round of the Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea. U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy was a stroke behind. …
Kirk Hanefeld, who won the Senior PGA Professional title in 2008, shot a 6-under 66 at rain-softened River Creek in Leesburg, Va., to take the first-round lead in the event for club pros age 50 and over. The top 35 finishers will earn spots in the Senior PGA Championship in May in Michigan.
COMING UP
The LPGA Tour’s annual swing through Asia begins today in the South Korean port city of Incheon with the Hana Bank Championship, where Na Yeon Choi is looking for her third straight title. … Fred Couples is taking a break from his duties as U.S. Presidents Cup captain to try to defend his title at the Champions Tour stop near Houston, where the Seattle native won last year by seven shots in the community where he played college golf.
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