For the first time in more than a year, Tiger Woods is on the course for a PGA Tour event. His start could have been better.
Tiger’s tee shot drifted right, eventually hitting a tree and falling down into the rough.
How did @TigerWoods' first tee shot go @FarmersInsOpen? Well, he wasn't able to make a par from there. https://t.co/MCMCykypZI
— ESPN Golf (@ESPNGolf) January 26, 2017
This is nothing new. Woods frequently struggles on the first hole, even when playing at traditionally strong venues for him.
“Tiger’s worst hole at Augusta National remains the first, which he has played at 17 over par through 66 rounds,” Max Adler of Golf Digest detailed in 2013. “He’s 101 under on the other 17. Granted, Augusta’s first hole plays as one of the toughest, but the 445-yard, uphill par 4 hasn’t been a comparable nuisance to other champions. On Sunday in 2010, in contention, Tiger started his round with a hook so harsh it crossed the ninth fairway.”
On Thursday, Tiger’s opening tee shot at Torrey Pines led to a bogey. He got back on track with pars on his next seven holes. Through eight, he’s yet to make a birdie and sits at one-over in his opening round.