Tiger Woods Looked Rusty Early at the PGA Championship, Then Caught Fire
By Kyle Koster
Tiger Woods thrilled at the Masters. The comeback victory put Jack Nicklaus’ major championship record back in conversation. The 43-year-old needs three more to tie and four to pass The Bear.
All eyes were on him as he took off early at Bethpage Black this morning to kick off the PGA Championship. And the guy who hasn’t played a tournament for more than a month looked a lot like a guy who hasn’t played a tournament in over a month.
The rust showed immediately as Woods, playing the back nine first, posted a double-bogey on No. 10. He then scored four straight pars before a birdie on No. 15. Any positive momentum, though, was stopped dead in its tracks with a 5 on the par-3 17th.
At the turn Woods was +3, already six shots behind the leader. His drives were erratic, his approaches spotty, and the putter less than spectacular.
Worse news for Tiger, courtesy ESPN Stats & Information: In the last 20 PGA Championships, only two winners made multiple double bogeys or worse: Keegan Bradley (2011) and Shaun Micheel (2003). https://t.co/c1WxjnONfP
— Nick Pietruszkiewicz (@npiet_ESPN) May 16, 2019
Woods, champion that he is, responded by knocking in back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. Then, on No. 4, he drained a long eagle putt to get back to -1 and very much back in play.