TULSA, United States, May 20 – Tiger Woods struggled to a four-over par 74 in Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship, foiled by poor iron shots and soreness in his surgically repaired right leg.
The 15-time major champion made his return from severe leg injuries suffered in a February 2021 car crash last month at the Masters, where he battled to walk 72 holes in finishing 47th.
In the second event of his comeback journey, Woods was boosted by a cheering crowd Thursday at Southern Hills, where he began with birdies at the par-4 10th and par-3 14th before his stamina and endurance began to fade.
“My leg is not feeling as good as I would like it to be,” Woods said. “We will start the recovery process and get after it tomorrow.”
Woods, 46, said he is unable to bring full power into his swing because of the pain in his right leg, which is held together with rods, pins and screws.
“Well, I just can’t load it,” Woods said. “Loading hurts, pressing off it hurts, and walking hurts, and twisting hurts.
“It’s just golf. If I don’t do that, then I’m all right.”
Woods, the former world number one now ranked 818th, made three bogeys in a row starting at the 18th and closed with back-to-back bogeys, finding rough and bunkers more often as his stamina waned and his iron shots weakened.
“I drove it well, but my iron shots were not very good. I didn’t get the ball very close,” Woods said. “I got off to a great start and didn’t keep it going. I really didn’t give myself any looks for birdie.
“I was struggling trying to get the ball on the green and I missed quite a few iron shots both ways. It was a frustrating day.”
Woods struggled in the bunkers, unable to stop his shots near the hole.
“All the bunker shots sort of came out hot,” Woods said. “The sand is a lot faster than I thought it would be, especially if you get up in the areas where it’s not raked.
“Sometimes the sand, I’m guessing, and I guessed wrong.”
Woods at times was using irons off the tee and coming up well short of playing partners Rory McIlroy, who shot 65, and Jordan Spieth, who fired a 72. They were using drivers.
“It wouldn’t have been so far back if I would have hit the iron shot solid and put the ball in the fairway,” Woods said. “I was playing to my spots and those guys obviously have a different game plan.
“You go out there and hit driver a lot, and if you have a hot week, you have a hot week and you’re up there.
“If I would have hit the ball solidly… I would have been fine. But I didn’t do that.”
