Tiger Woods
Thousand Oaks, CA (Sports Network) – Emerging from the longest layoff of his career, Tiger Woods made a costly double-bogey Thursday at the last hole of the Target World Challenge to fall one shot off the first-round lead.
Woods made five birdies in 17 holes, then hit errant shots into the mulch and a water hazard at the 18th to post a three-under 69.
Jim Furyk fired a four-under 68 for the lead, while Woods was joined at 69 by reigning Master champion Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini and Henrik Stenson.
The $5.75 million tournament — which benefits Woods’ foundation and features an elite 16-player field — is an off-season event. But the defending champion scoffed at the notion that it is anything less than competitive.
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"I just threw away a good round of golf," Woods, a three-time champion, said after losing his lead at the 18th.
Playing his first competitive round since the Presidents Cup ended on Sept. 30, Woods was five-under par after 11 holes with two par-fives still ahead of him at Sherwood Country Club.
But he made bad chip shots at the 13th and 16th holes during a string of six consecutive pars, then fell apart for his closing double-bogey.
"Realistically, I should have been seven-under par easily," he said.
Woods’ first score in more than 70 days was a birdie at the first hole, set up by a pretty 60-degree wedge shot. He made two more birdies on the front nine — at the second and fifth holes — then back-to-back birdies from the 10th.
They were his last birdies.
Sending his final tee shot into the mulch, Woods pulled his second at the 18th into a small, rocky stream running behind the green and was unable to hole a mid-range bogey putt.
"I hit a terrible tee shot way right and had to go for it and pulled it just a touch off that lie into the hazard," said Woods, who also won the event in 2001 and ’04.
The world’s No. 1 player won seven times in 2007, including his 13th major at the PGA Championship, and is the headliner in a field that includes 15 of the top 56 players in the rankings, including half of the top 20.
Furyk, the third-ranked player in the world, posted his 68 in the twosome ahead of Woods. He had three birdies on the front nine, then a bogey and two more birdies on the back, including a closing birdie at the 18th.
It was a pretty tough day for scoring, Furyk said.
"There’s a couple top-heavy scores, but the greens are holding and it was a little windy," he said.
Stenson made a birdie run on the back nine to tie Woods for the lead, posting four in a row from the 11th to get to five-under par. But he tripped to consecutive bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes.
Johnson overcame an early bogey with four birdies in a seven-hole stretch to post his 69. Sabbatini had a similar round, finally reaching three-under with a birdie at the 16th.
Reigning British Open champion Padraig Harrington shared sixth place with Mark Calcavecchia at one-under 71; while Paul Casey, Niclas Fasth, Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker and Lee Westwood were the only other survivors to par at 72.
Brett Wetterich (73), Fred Couples (74), Luke Donald (74) and Colin Montgomerie (80) rounded out the field.
Each of the 16 players will receive at least $170,000 for appearing this weekend. Woods gives his prize money back to his foundation.
Source: Woods one shot back at World Challenge
