Tiger Woods shot a very disappointing 74 in the preliminary first round of the PGA Championship at Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club Thursday. Currently tied for 82nd place at three-over-par, it’s very likely Woods won’t even make the cut to continue the tournament through the weekend.
Woods has been out recently with back spasms, but reporters who were there said that the golfer didn’t wince or at least seem in any pain in the slightest. It appears Woods just can’t hit a golf ball right now… which has been the case since this happened.
Woods was swinging without inhibition and without any apparent discomfort from the back issues that have plagued him this year. Woods hit multiple good drives, but his approach shots were inconsistent and his putting constantly demoralized him. The only birdie Woods made came when he chipped in from just off the 16th green.
On the first hole he played, Woods, who began his round on the 10th tee, missed a 12-foot birdie putt and stamped his foot in exasperation. Those kinds of displays continued throughout the day as numerous birdie putts either rolled left or right of the hole.
On the fourth hole, he left another birdie putt inches short and again was visibly frustrated. On the next hole, he missed another makable birdie putt. Two holes later, a birdie putt lipped out. Once an almost peerless clutch putter in crucial situations, Woods missed opportunity after opportunity on the greens Thursday.
Here you’ll see Tiger hook the ball immediately on a drive and his frustration that ensues:
For those waiting for Tiger to be the Tiger Woods of old, it’s simply not going to happen. Although he’s only four majors away from tying Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors, he’s nearing 40 years-old, can’t stay healthy, and let’s be honest, his mental game hasn’t been the same since 2008, the last time he won a major; we all know golf is exponentially more mental than any other sport.
Rory McIlroy, who is the most likely competitor to take the reigns as the greatest golfer in the world, is currently sitting at 5-under and tied for fourth. Lee Westwood, Ryan Palmer and Kevin Chappell are tied for first at 6-under-par.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
