A birdie at No. 2 not long after the turn made up for that dropped shot.
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Two weeks ago at the United States Open, Woods had the highest 36-hole score of his pro career – 156.
Woods, who said earlier this year that his swing changes would cause short-term pain but result in long-term gain, is still dealing with a blister on the index finger of his left hand that came about at The Memorial. Thankfully his ball-striking was on for the final three holes so he could avoid that part of the game and get back rolling in the right direction.
“There’s a lot of thoughts walking around here, absolutely”, McNeill told reporters in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. “I’d say it’s probably a little more special than some others, but I try not to think about that and just play golf”.
The veteran bounced back on the second hole to pick up a shot and, although he double-bogeyed the sixth, birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth would have given him some joy. “Obviously you’ve got to hit a good shot, but there’s a lot of luck involved for it to go in”.
Hull, who recorded five birdies and one bogey, said: “I’m happy because I putted pretty well today”. Last week I had a really positive week.
“I said to myself that I was not going to lose this round as I was playing too well”.
Ranked 144th in the FedEx Cup standings, any type of strong finish would do wonders for Langley’s postseason outlook.
Brian Davis watches his putt during the first round of play in the…
But it was an encouraging start in what has been the worst season of Woods s career. Four birdies on the front nine were followed by a further four on the back nine as the American made light work of the Old White TPC course.
Woods’ four-under-par 66 was still only enough for a 15-way share of 12th place, four shots adrift of leader Scott Langley, but it represented a significant improvement on recent performances from the ex- world number one.
Woods will begin his second round at 1:10 p.m. ET on Friday.
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The main event of the tournament is clearly Tiger Woods.
