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If you wanted to play golf at Tiger Woods during the off season, Friday was a good day for you. Big Cat played all his first round and a good part of his second game (which started 30 minutes after the end of his first match due to bad weather on Thursday). After a bizarre under-70 game in the first round, Woods played 12 holes in his second tied round and nine shots off the lead.
Let's look at his day.
Before new R1 (even 35): Woods made a dazzling start with a spin in the first easy hole of the normal 5, and he seemed to be heading for another missed cup after the bogeys of # 3 and # 7, both on three throws. He however started in 8th place with a birdie-birdie finish at the front.
Back new R1 (1-under 35): The bird barrage continued on the back nine while Tiger managed to make a bird to start this nine. Another bogey of three shots at No. 12 appeased the excitement, however, and Woods followed suit with another (a fourth!) bogey of three throws at number 17. The 70 shots he drew were good, but the way he hit them … that number should have been much better.
First 12 holes R2 (even): Woods played in the toughest conditions on Friday after a short break between rounds. He made a pair of bogeys in the last three holes of the nine back (where he started). An eagle in the first round turned things around for a brief moment, however, and earned him 3 cents. But two draws on No. 2 and 3 to end his day left him at 1 subtotal and nine of the leaders Justin Thomas and Adam Scott. He returned his play in the afternoon by putting himself in the lead to make up for some poor punches.
What went well: His swing seemed phenomenal early. Woods was seventh on the tee field at the green in the first round, and that showed. Its fluidity, timing and lack of effort all marked me as they certainly did not make it last year at this event. That should not be surprising given that we are on the last comeback right now, but I could not help but be amazed by some of the iron shots and assists that Tiger has struck Friday at Riviera. It did not look like a course that baffled him throughout the tournament last year.
What has gone wrong: I'm sure finishing 134th in putting in 1st round is not good. In addition, it seemed to wear out as the day went by and the swing I saw early blurred a little.
Shot of the day: The eagle on the # 1 (his second time) was from the downtown road.
Stat of the day: Woods should have legitimately shot a 65 in the first run, knowing that he hit 17 of the 18 greens provided by regulation! His four three-shots started at an average of about 40 feet from the hole. An easy distance on the PGA Tour? No, but you certainly should not ride three times four times on soft greens as we saw in Riviera on Friday.
Where he is: Woods is in T55 and wobbles on the cut line, which seems crazy. It's an important event, however, and if you're gone, Riviera will expose you in a huge way.
And after: Woods is not on the wrong side of the missed cuts like last year, but he still has work to do early Saturday to make things happen as well. A hot finish early Saturday at 10 am Eastern time would definitely help.
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