Tiger Woods had an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys Thursday.
DORAL, Fla. — When Tiger Woods hit his approach shot on the first hole to inside 2 feet Thursday at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, it appeared as if he picked up right where he left off a week ago when he closed with an eagle for a 62. Only this time the gusty winds and some missed shots didn’t allow him to.
Woods shot an even par-72 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral after an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys on a windswept day in South Florida.
“It was just a difficult day,” said Woods, who hit only seven fairways and 11 greens in regulation. “The wind was blowing putts around, and it was made for a very challenging round.
“It was gusty and changed directions every now and then. For some reason I kept hitting every drive in the first cut so it added and compounded the problem. I had to consequently play very conservative on a lot of the shots.”
To Woods’ point about the wind, the par-4 18th hole, which was playing directly into the wind, actually played more than a half-stroke more difficult than the par-5 opening hole, which was downwind wind and the easiest on the course.
Woods, like a lot of other players, was a victim on the 18th, where he missed the fairway well right, came up short on his approach then left himself nearly 20 feet after a poor chip shot.
If there was a silver lining to Woods’ day, however, it’s that he’s only six shots off the lead in a tie for 25th.
“I hit a lot of good shots, just made a couple mistakes with iron shots and cost me two shots right in a row there at [Nos.] 4 and 5 and then after that, I played some really solid golf,” Woods said. “I just couldn’t quite make enough birdies.”
