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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania – A day of rest, an old putter in the sack and a golf ball that seemed to be flying forever on Thursday allowed Tiger Woods to achieve his best score in more than five years.
Woods played his first nine holes in 29 shots, hit 16 greens in regulation and shot 8 under par 62 at the Aronimink Golf Club in the first round of the BMW championship.
It was only the fourth time in 17 tournaments in 2018 that Woods kicked off with a lap under par.
Rory McIlroy also shot 62 tied for the lead, with Xander Schauffele in check. Justin Thomas is tied for fourth with two shots with Billy Horschel, Peter Uihlein and Alex Noren. It was Woods' best score since filming 61 at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he won the last of his 79 titles on the PGA Tour.
"You can certainly do it today," said Woods, who hit 12 shots that have gone at least 300 meters. "The fairways are wide and the greens are soft – all the good things now – we drive it there between 310 and 340, so it's not so long as a golf course right now.
"Lots of holds and you have to hit your quarters, take your distance."
Woods did that, but you still have to putts – something that did not happen to him recently. Playing with his third different putter in three weeks – his 1999 Scotty Cameron and with which he won 13 of his 14 major games – Woods found some comfort on the greens and finished seventh in the 69-shot pack . .
The 29 came on Woods' first nine holes, the last nine at Aronimink, and it included four birdies and an eagle. It was the sixth under-30 score of his career and the first since he shot 28 in the second round at East Lake during the 2007 Tour Championship.
For a while, it turned out that McIlroy could dominate him. The Northern Irishman, who won earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitation, had six consecutive birdies from the 18th to the 5th hole to be 9 under his total before making consecutive bogeys at the seventh and eighth holes. He added a birdie in the ninth to tie Woods.
"If someone gave me a 62 on the first tee this morning, I would have taken it," McIlroy said. "So it's a great way to start the golf tournament, my game obviously feels great, there are a lot of good signs out there, my approach is playing, my corner game has been a lot better." Well, basically, everything went well and I can not wait to get back early in the morning and try to revive it. "
Despite his win earlier this year, McIlroy had a rather disappointing season. He struggled with his corner play and, while he finished second in the Open against Francesco Molinari, he was not able to win the necessary charge to win.
A final grouping with Patrick Reed at the Masters looked promising until his starting shot left him.
He missed the US Cup and tied for 50th place in the PGA Championship, which earned him the first FedEx Cup tournament to work on his game.
"Sometimes, if a major season does not go the way you want and you have not done what you wanted to do, just a little reset, re-evaluate your goals," he said. said McIlroy. what I did. & # 39; & # 39; & # 39; & # 39; & # 39;
Woods finished 24th last week at the Dell Technologies Championship, where he had put into play a new TaylorMade prototype putter, which looks like Cameron, but which has grooves on his face, like the mallet-shaped putter that he used. Woods began the year using the Cameron and made it through the US Open before moving to TaylorMade 's Ardmore at Quicken National Loans in late June. He used this putter to compete at the Open and the PGA Championship, where he shot a final round.
"I've hit hundreds of millions of putts (with Cameron's), I've had it since 1999," Woods said. My body remembers it. When I walked away from me and used the Nike putter, I always pulled it out and hit it with putts. Sometimes it works but it seems very familiar.
But it was not all about the putter on Thursday. Woods had some opportunities that did not fall, but he offered himself opportunities. He hit 16 of the 18 greens and bombed the roads, missing just five fairways.
It did not hurt that Woods took on Wednesday. After a disappointing result Monday at the Dell Technologies Championship – he played his last five holes in 3 on the par – Woods played nine holes at Aronimink on Tuesday and then retired from the competition on Wednesday.
"I really needed it," said Woods, who plays three weeks in a row for the first time since the beginning of 2013. "I've played a lot of golf in the last six weeks and I needed a day to recover. " and make sure I was fresh for today. Monday ends, takes stock and looks how it was. … I wanted to manage it. Disappointed, I did not play in the pro-am but it was also the best thing for me.
Woods will occupy a spot in the first round for the first time since the 2013 WGC Cadillac Championship, a tournament he has won.
Due to the unfavorable weather, departures for the second round were postponed Friday at 7am-9am, while Woods debuted at 8:06.
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