A cautious Tiger Woods withstood a first round test of patience at the US Open, the Masters champion firing a par 70 on Thursday to stay in contention at the year’s second major tournament.
Woods, who shared third here at Pinehurst in the 1999 US Open, birdied both par-5s and overcame back-to-back bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes to thrive despite finding only six of 14 fairways and just 12 of 18 greens in regulation.
”I was as patient as possible, just kept hanging in there, kept grinding,” Woods said. ”This course tests it probably more than any other. It makes for some interesting times, especially if you’re not playing well.
”It’s fine to make a par. Anything even par or better is going to be a great score at this event. If you have four days shooting par or better, you’re looking awfully good.”
Woods and playing partner Chris DiMarco reprised their final-round Masters pairing, a day-long duel that ended with Woods beating him in a playoff to come here with a chance at completing the front half of golf’s Grand Slam.
But crowd roars for great shots, so common at Augusta, were eerily absent. After all, it’s hard to get excited about the careful two-putt layup pars and cautious moves that are vital to staying in contention at a US Open.
It was so quiet you could hear Tiger pause.
”There are no roars out here,” Woods said. ”Who’s going to hole one from the sides of these greens? At Augusta you hear eagle roars. You hear the big putts being made. It’s awfully quiet out there.”
Woods began with a birdie on the 10th hole but found trouble at 15, where he chipped to six feet and missed a par putt, and 16, where he found a bunker and two-putted from 30 feet for bogey.
He found the rough and a greenside bunker at the par-5 fourth but blasted one foot from the cup for a tap-in birdie, thankful he had found one of the few places he could attack.
”It all depends on the pin placements,” Woods said. ”Some are accessible. Other holes you’re playing all away from it and trying to two-putt from 30 yards.
”Most of my balls were defensive because I was putting the ball in some pretty tough places.
”I need to be more in the fairway. I kept spinning the ball. I kept hitting these upshots. I know what I need to do to fix it. I’m going to work on it and be better tomorrow.”
He will have to improve. Woods plays on Friday afternoon when heat and winds are likely to be higher than his morning stroll in round one.
”The course will be faster,” Woods said. ”It’s going to be harder to position your shots. It’s going to be difficult for guys in the afternoon.”
Woods described the course as tough but fair.
”Just keep it fair,” Woods said. ”Hopefully it will be all four days like this.” – Sapa-AFP