Mid-Round Meltdown Dooms Tiger Woods at the British Open
It wasn’t Rory McIlroy’s opening-hole quadruple bogey or David Duval’s 13 on the par-5 seventh hole, but Tiger Woods had a stretch of holes that put him well out of contention Thursday in the first round of the British Open.
After a decent start that saw Woods par the first four holes at Royal Portrush, things quickly went off the rails.
Despite playing as one of the easiest holes on the course, the fifth hole gave Woods considerable trouble. A very poor wedge shot left him very far from the hole and set the stage for a three-putt bogey.
It only got worse on the par-3 sixth hole. Woods pulled his tee shot long and left, setting up an extremely difficult second shot. Instead of hitting the high flop shot he was hoping for, Woods bladed the ball across the green and ended up making a double bogey.
Tiger Woods takes a double bogey on #6 and drops to +3.
Tiger is currently +6600 to WIN…#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/IeVZZunqAO
— SBR Sports Picks (@SBRSportsPicks) July 18, 2019
The next hole started with Woods hitting his drive into the thick rough, which took two more shots to escape. His first quality shot in quite sometime set up a tap-in bogey.
After a par at the eighth hole provided some brief respite, Woods went on to bogey both the ninth and 10th holes. That put him at 6 over par in a six-hole stretch, which will quickly put you out of contention in any major tournament.
Woods steadied the ship afterward and notched his only birdie of the day on the 15th hole.
Tiger’s first birdie of the day comes at the 15th.
He’ll take in as much love as he can ? #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/vy9OtF91Pk
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 18, 2019
He then bogeyed the 18th to finish with a 7-over-par 78.
Woods’ health was an ongoing concern throughout the round. He appeared to be in pain on his very first tee shot of the day.
Tiger on the first tee. Not looking all that comfortable. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/p3LO1AgAgW
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) July 18, 2019
Throughout the day, Woods moved gingerly and winced after some shots.
Is Tiger Woods hurt?#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/IJTgLnRbRw
— Cam Rogers (@MrRogers99) July 18, 2019
The disappointing performance shouldn’t have been a huge surprise to those who have been paying close attention to the defending Masters champion’s words this week.
“It’s not quite as sharp as I’d like to have it right now,” Woods said about his game.
J.B. Holmes currently leads the tournament after posting a 5-under-par 66.
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