Perhaps the only highlight (or lowlight!) out of Tiger’s first round from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was his tee shot on the first hole (his 10th) of the golf course. The first hole is a Par-4 measuring 410yards – Woods was thinking he’d hit either a 3-iron or a 5-wood, but changed his mind at the last second and decided to hit driver. He admitted that he didn’t commit to the shot completely and the result is what you see below – a topped drive that ended up about 50 yards short of the fairway! I guess it happens to the best of us! Tiger struggled during the round and finished at even-par. This topped drive from Tiger reminds us of another shot by Jason Day during the Kapalua Tournament a couple years ago – check out both videos below!
Like Woods, Rory also struggled during his first round and finished with a 3-over 75. He missed fairways repeatedly, including a shot on his 12th (3rd hole on the golf course) that hit a tree and ended up in a parking lot. He also muffed a chip in thick rough on his par-3 6th (15th hole on golf course). He risks missing the cut if he doesn’t play well during the second round. He said his difficulties had more to do with being rusty than his new equipment, but many will be sure to point to his move to Nike for his struggles.
In other tournament news, the Humana Challenge also began in Palm Springs. Notable players that are in the field include Phil Mickelson, Ryo Ishikawa and S.Y. Noh. The most surprising player may be Russell Henley, a rookie who won the Sony Open in Hawaii last week in his first start as a PGA Tour member shot a 64 on the Nicklaus course and is T-4 at 8-under. Henley is an amazing 32-under in his first five rounds this year!
The PGA Tour season is officially underway!
