Tiger Tames Gusty Winds for Opening 70 at Valspar

Date: 09 March 2018 - 22:02

News ID: ۵۰۹۳۲

FLORIDA (Reuters) – Tiger Woods gave himself a high grade after taming strong and gusty winds to trail first round Canadian leader Corey Conners by three strokes at the Valspar Championship in Florida on Thursday.
Showing glimpses of the verve and creativity that brought him 14 major championships before a serious back injury, Woods carded a one-under-par 70 to end the day equal eighth at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
It was not such smooth sailing for some of the other big names, with Rory McIlroy battling to a 74 in his first round at the Copperhead course, while Jordan Spieth had five bogeys in a seven-hole stretch en route to a 76.
Woods, on the other hand, could hardly contain his smile, oozing satisfaction as he reflected on his performance.
"I’m pleased with every aspect of my game,” he told reporters.
"I drove it well, hit a lot of good iron shots and had some good speed on the putts. Overall I thought I really did well today.
"This is the hardest of all the tests because the wind was all over the place.
"I don’t know if people understand how hard it was out there. Into the wind it felt we hit walls out there. The whole group got fooled a lot today.”
Woods, who underwent a spinal fusion last April, is making what is expected to be his penultimate appearance before the Masters, the first major of the year in four weeks.
His short game was particularly impressive, almost holing a flop shot from the rough at the par-five first, which led to a tap-in birdie and set a positive tone for the round.
A huge gallery, rugged up on an unusually cool Florida afternoon, were treated to a vintage Tiger recovery shot at the par-four 16th.
After his drive bounced on a cart path and clattered deep into the trees, coming to rest on leaves and pine straw, Woods was concerned his club would snap against a nearby pine on his follow-through.
He warned spectators to stand back, and sure enough he subsequently wrapped his iron around the trunk, the club bending but not breaking, before flying out of his hand as his left arm also hit the tree.