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ATLANTA – The goal has always been to win a tournament, as stupid as it may seem – even for Tiger Woods.
There was first the opportunity to play, then create a game, then give yourself chances. All of this happened quickly during a ninth month of what Woods called one of his best years, even without a win.
Now this possibility exists again.
It was just a turn and Woods had several chances to win this year, but his first match at East Lake on Thursday was just as good or better than the 62 that he had shot two weeks ago to start the BMW championship.
And the final closing of the eagle shot that had made him fall on the Tour Championship standings with Rickie Fowler was certainly a big boost.
"It would improve the year," Woods said, hoping to win the 80th PGA Tour. "I was hoping to play golf again at the beginning of the year, but I did not know, and I did it.
This is not easy. Fowler, who is looking for his first win in 2018, also shot 5 under 65, and Gary Woodland is back with Justin Rose. Rory McIlroy, who was 4 years old under normal, made seven birdies, was contented with 67 and is back with Justin Thomas and Tony Finau.
There is a lot of firepower among these players and Woods, 42, no longer has the arsenal he has.
But last month, catching up with his equipment, he improved his accuracy and gave himself more chances. If only a few putts fell – and Thursday, at least on the last nine holes, they did it.
"I do not want to say that the difference was night and day, but it was really good," said Joe LaCava, Woods's youngest. "He missed some fairways, but everyone will do it, but for the most part, he's on the tee knowing that he's going to hit the fairway instead of thinking that he's going to hit the fairway."
"He hits shots with the pilot and he makes tight draws with the pilot, he works the pilot, and he shapes it well.So he hits more fairways, what he did, he'll give himself more chances, what he's doing, because he's the best modern iron player that has ever existed. "
Woods hit 14 of the 18 greens and made his only bogey at the first hole – where he triumphed. He added birdies to the fifth, sixth, twelfth and fourteenth holes, made a good stop after his misbehavior at the 17th, then rolled in a 30-foot for the eagle at the 18th after reaching the green in two with a wood of 5.
Tommy Fleetwood, who was paired with Woods, spoke to Twitter after Thursday's round to share his impressions of his partner's performance.
Tiger Woods is good at golf
– Tommy Fleetwood (@ TommyFleetwood1) September 20, 2018
This is the final tournament of the 2017-18 season of the PGA Tour and the FedEx Cup champion will also be decided. Bryson DeChambeau, who competed at the top of the FedEx Cup standings, shot 72 and tied for 24th.
Although the road ahead is long and much remains to be done, Woods has been screened for the first time in the FedEx rankings. The only way to win the overall title – he won in 2007 and 2009 and is the only player to do it twice – is to win the first round of the championship, then to have various results among the close players.
The winner of the FedEx Cup receives a bonus of $ 10 million.
Woods can only control his own game, and it's hard to find much fault. He was third in tee shot in green, sixth in shots approached the green and sixth in winning strokes. Even on the greens, he had three kneecaps inside of 11 feet that he had missed.
"The only shot I can honestly say is that I was the victim of a bad shot at 17:00," he said. "I hit a 3-wood, and with an iron, I'd probably have it in the fairway out there and done by.
He will be last Friday with Fowler, a frequent practice partner of Woods in South Florida who has his own aspirations this week.
"In my eyes, looking at this, the biggest win for him is to stay healthy and stay here all year," said Fowler about Woods. "Definitely happy for him – it's obviously great for our sport – it's great to have it as part of the [U.S. Ryder Cup] team next week. We hope that he continues to play well. I just want to play a little better and beat him. "
There were 10 players in the field of the 30 players who shot over par in the first round, including the winner of the BMW Championship. Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson, captain's choice for the American Ryder Cup team next week. Both shot 73.
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