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NORTON, Mass .– Tiger Woods had no scientific reason to revert to the shorter Scotty Cameron putter he relied heavily on for more than two decades after a brief hiatus at the PGA Championship earlier this month.
“Just stubbornness,” Woods said Thursday after his Under-68 first round at the Northern Trust, the first three-week FedEx Cup qualifying event. “I was training with the other to make sure I could have reps and feel, and all of a sudden – damn it, I’m just going to put [this one] in-game and see how it goes. It worked.”
Woods went to the other version of the Scotty Cameron putter, he said, as the longer length put less strain on his back and allowed him to practice a bit more.
The late decision to revert to the shorter version paid off in Thursday’s first round.
Starting on the 10th tee at TPC Boston, Woods played the harder back nine in a par par before getting hot on the front side. He made four of the first eight holes before a capricious tee shot led to a bogey in the ninth, his last hole of the day.
“When I gave myself chances [on the front nine], I made them, ”said Woods, who is four shots behind leader Harris English.
Woods rolled in a 16-foot third long par 3 to enter the red figures. He followed that up with another birdie after climbing up and down the greenside bunker at the short par 4 fourth hole. After pars in the fifth and sixth, he converted a pair of 7s to birdies at No.7 and 8 forward. hiccups at last.
“I like the speed of these greens,” he said.
His first playoff event was not without drama. Woods was seen putting ice-cold water bottles on his neck ahead of his tour. He said it was nothing more than chilling some hot oils that he had used to relax things.
“My lower back is used to it. It’s used to it. We do it all the time just so I can pull away,” Woods said. “I decided to put it on my neck, and it’s not as forgiving as my lower back, so it’s extremely hot. It’s common in almost every other sport and especially hockey, these guys put pretty hot stuff on their legs, but you get used to it. My lower back is pretty immune to it, but my neck isn’t. “
Woods is entering a potentially turbulent period that could see him play four of the next five weeks. After the Northern Trust, he’s pledged to play next week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields just outside Chicago. The following week is the Tour Championship, which he won two years ago.
For that one, however, “I have to get to Atlanta first; I’m not in it,” Woods said.
Top 30 players on FedEx Cup points list advance to Circuit Championship at East Lake; Woods entered this week in 49th place. After this event, there is a week off before the US Open at Winged Foot, which begins September 17. The major was originally scheduled for June but was pushed back due to the three-month shutdown forced by the coronavirus.
“The top 30 guys that qualify for East Lake, they’re going to play a big load here, regardless of those 30 guys,” said Woods.
Thursday’s round was a solid first step in the pursuit of one of those 30 places. The 68 matched how he started out in the PGA Championship two weeks ago. At TPC Harding Park, however, Woods struggled with the longer putter the rest of the week, never quite adjusting to the speed of the greens.
“Had a good day [at the PGA Championship], day one, and then I didn’t putt really well, ”said Woods, who opened with a 3-under or better inning for just the third time since the start of 2019.
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