The 2022 Open Championship is finally underway in Scotland, and so far the legendary Old Course at St. Andrews is the star of the show, as will be the case much of the week at this 150th playing of the oldest tournament in golf.
WATCH: Ian Poulter booed at The Open, snap-hooks first tee shot on Old Course
In the early-going of Thursday’s opening round, pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy quickly showed that people were right to trust him with their money, as he went low across the first nine holes. He was bested only by American Cameron Young, who was seven under through 13 holes on a calm day at the Old Course.
Tiger Woods will hit his first shot of the tournament — and his first competitive shot since the PGA Championship in May — off the 1st tee at 9:59 a.m. ET (2:59 p.m. local time). He’ll play the first round alongside U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and fan favorite Max Homa.
You can follow every shot of Tiger’s opening round at the Open with our live blog below.
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OPEN LIVE BLOG: Tiger Woods’ first round
(Refresh the page for the latest updates. All times ET.)
4:07 p.m. ET: Oof. After hitting his drive just short of the green, Tiger needs three shots to get down and makes a disappointing par. Six-over 78 leaves him 14 off the pace after Round 1 at the Old Course.
3:55 p.m. ET: No issues at the Road Hole today. Hits his drive into the left rough and then chops it up onto the green. Easy two-putt from there and he’ll head to the 18th looking to end on a high note.
3:31 p.m. ET: Not the best hole for Tiger at 16. Pulls his drive well left, hits his approach over the green and then fails to get up and down. Another bogey. Six over with two to play.
3:14 p.m. ET: Up on the 15th, our guy made a routine, two-putt par. Now he turns for the 16th tee box … and the closing stretch.
3:06 p.m. ET: Didn’t believe us when we said Tiger destroyed his drive on the 14th? Well, it traveled 418 yards. (Though we’re betting that effort was aided by the wind and the ground, both of which are kicking tee balls considerably further than normal.)
2:58 p.m. ET: And a tap-in bogey it is! Cat brings it back to 5 over through 14. On the downside, though, that walk is looking awfully gimpy after 14 holes.
2:49 p.m. ET: Well, it sure looks like Tiger will get one back here. Woods piped a drive on the short par-5, then struck his 188-yard approach onto the front edge of the green. A lengthy putt for eagle is upcoming, but this should be a relatively tame two-putt birdie.
2:26 p.m. ET: Bag alert!! NBC just showed a shot of Tiger’s lost ball sitting halfway submerged in the burn adjacent to Swilcan bridge. The tide has dropped since Woods dunked his second shot of the day in the water, revealing his specially stamped Bridgestone sitting — still pristine — in the water. Whoever grabs that golf ball is going to have one hell of a memorabilia item.
2:24 p.m. ET: Oh no! Tiger’s first putt falls well short of the flagstick, paving the way for an ugly three-putt and our guy’s sixth bogey of the day. He’s now 6 over, a whopping 14 strokes back of Cameron Young’s lead.
2:02 p.m. ET: After yanking his driver into the fescue, Tiger rips his iron approach on No. 13 30 yards long of the flagstick. He’ll have a putt for birdie, but Paul Azinger says, “that’s probably the hardest green on the golf course.” Long look coming.
1:54 p.m. ET: Tiger chips it close with his second from beside the green at 12, but he misses his short birdie putt and has to settle for a par. Homa makes par too, while Fitzpatrick sneaks in a birdie to get back to even.
1:40 p.m. ET: Tiger pulls driver at the short par-4 12th and smashes one over a large patch of thick rough, sending his ball trundling up almost to the edge of the green. He’ll have a great chance to get back his dropped shot from 11.
1:28 p.m. ET: Woods can’t convert his four-foot par putt, so he settles for a disappointing, momentum-killing bogey that drops him back to five over. Fitzpatrick follows Tiger up with a three-putt bogey of his own to drop to one over. Homa, on the other hand, is able to save par to remain at even.
1:23 p.m. ET: Tiger’s lengthy try for his third-straight birdie comes up about four feet short of the hole. He’ll have a tester to save par at 11.
1:16 p.m. ET: Next up for Woods’ group is the par-3 11th hole, which is playing 176 today. Tiger hits first and smooths an iron onto the front of the green, 40 feet or so from the hole. Fitzpatrick nearly matches him, stopping his ball feet from Tiger’s. Homa hits it inside both of them to set up a birdie look.
1:08 p.m. ET: He’s not out of it yet! Tiger sinks his short putt at 10 for his second-straight birdie. That moves him back to four over par for the day and keeps his momentum going on the back.
1:00 p.m. ET: After a nice tee shot at the par-4 10th, Tiger hits a beautiful approach that bounces on the green and settles just a few feet from the hole. He’ll have a great look at another birdie.
12:50 p.m. ET: Low, lower, lowest. All three players in our featured group drove it over the 9th green. Homa opted for a 50 degree wedge, Woods a 9 iron, Fitzpatrick a putter. Tiger sinks his birdie putt and smiles for the first time today. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+5), Fitzpatrick (+1), Homa (E).
12:35 p.m. ET: Our featured group has yet to make a birdie, but this should change at the drivable par-4 ninth hole. Tiger hit a straight tee shot that rolled just over the green, offering him an excellent chance to move in the right direction.
12:30 p.m. ET: After chipping to two feet with a low-lofted iron, Tiger has no problem saving his par. Three threes for our featured group.
12:22 p.m. ET: Tiger plays a controlled draw left of the pin at the 201-yard par-3 eighth. He’ll have a relatively simple up and down.
12:15 p.m. ET: After pitching out of the bunker to the fairway, Tiger hits an overly-spinning wedge that misses short and right. A 5-iron bump-and-run chip left him about seven feet for bogey, which he failed to convert. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+6), Fitzpatrick (+1), Homa (+1).
12:04 p.m. ET: “From bad to worse.” Tiger hooks his fairway wood on the seventh tee and finds a pot bunker on the twelfth hole. Not ideal.
12:00 p.m ET: Tiger leaves himself another lengthy par putt, and but this one drops. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+4), Fitzpatrick (+1), Homa (+1).
11:53 a.m. ET: Wedge in hand, Tiger misses another green. He’ll have to putt up and over the ridge to save par while his playing partners have great birdie looks.
11:48 a.m. ET: After a roped tee shot on the 401-yard sixth, the crowd erupted as Tiger has an opportunity to start turning his Thursday around.
11:40 a.m. ET: Tiger continues to struggle. He blew his bump-and-run thirty feet by the hole and misread his birdie putt by at least two feet. Our featured group still hasn’t made a birdie!
11:32 a.m. ET: After waiting about ten minutes for the fifth green to clear, Tiger misjudges the wind with his fairway wood and comes up short, leaving him an uphill third shot.
11:21 a.m. ET: Expect some action on the fifth. Tiger found the fairway and will look to pounce on this reachable par-five.
11:10 a.m. ET: Tiger comes up about eight feet short on his first putt, and doesn’t touch the hole on the second. Fitzpatrick three-putted as well. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+4), Fitzpatrick (+1), Homa (+1).
11:04 a.m. ET: All three players in our featured group are on the green in regulation, but none of them have a look within forty feet. We haven’t seen a birdie yet.
10:55 a.m. ET: Tiger outdrives his playing partners and finds the fairway on on the fourth, one of the most demanding tee shots on the Old Course.
10:48 a.m. ET: Tiger left himself a 10-foot, left-to-right par putt, and he failed to convert, blowing it four feet by the hole. He holed his bogey putt. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+3), Fitzpatrick (E), Homa (+1).
10:40 a.m ET: On three, Tiger pulls his drive again, but finds the fairway just inside the fencing. He’s taking advantage of St. Andrews layout where many holes on the back nine lay adjacent to the front. From 119 yards, he floated his wedge short and right. He’ll have a tough up-and-down.
10:31 a.m ET: Over at “The Road Hole,” Xander Schauffele opted to putt from the road right of the green. St. Andrews surely demands creativity. Tiger judged the distance beautifully, two putting for par. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+2), Fitzpatrick (E), Homa (+1).
10:23 a.m ET: Tiger found the left side of the fairway at the second. With 155 yards in, he hit is approach to the back edge of the green. He’ll have a lengthy birdie look.
10:14 a.m ET: After nipping a chip that spun and stopped about three feet past the hole, Tiger tugs his bogey putt and misses the hole entirely. Current scores for our featured grouping: Woods (+2), Fitzpatrick (E), Homa (E).
10:08 a.m. ET: A quarter of the ball underground, Tiger fails to strike it cleanly and finds the burn short of the first green. He’ll lie three and attempt to save five.
9:59 a.m. ET: Tiger is off! A light draw with his driving iron sets him up perfectly at the first. He’ll have 113 yards to the pin, but it looks like he rolled into a divot.
9:44 a.m. ET: We are fifteen minutes away from our featured group with Matthew Fitzpatrick, Max Homa, and Tiger Woods. Tiger played in the JP McManus Pro-Am ten days ago, but didn’t compete since the Masters before that. Cameron Young is ahead early, firing a scorching 64 (-8) to take a three shot lead over Rory McIlroy (-5) and Cameron Smith (-5).
7:34 a.m. ET: Tiger group doesn’t start their rounds until 9:50 a.m. ET, but they have one of the latest tee times of the day. The first grouping opened the tournament at 1:35 a.m. ET, and plenty of stars have gotten off to hot starts early, including Rory McIlroy, which you can read all about below.