Outside expectations were pretty low for Tiger Woods heading into the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, the first major championship of the year. But it didn’t take long for Tiger to exceed them in the first round on Thursday.
Woods opened his day on the par-5 10th hole with a few squirrely shots — a drive that jumped into the left rough, followed by a fairway wood that caught the grass and sent his ball careening well to the right of the green.
But Tiger cleaned up his nervous start with a vintage flop shot that set up an opening birdie.
At the difficult par-4 13th hole, he added an even bigger exclamation point.
After hitting a solid drive into the right side of the fairway, Tiger knocked his 180-yard approach shot safely on the front of the green.
Then, standing 33 yards from the cup, the 15-time major champion hit a confident stroke and watched his ball dive into the hole for an unexpected second birdie.
Without any fans in attendance, the dramatic putt was met with deafening silence at Harding Park, and Tiger didn’t bother to add a fist-pump. The birdie also tied him for the very, very early lead at two under with a host of other players, including Dustin Johnson
Check out the putt below.
