Tiger Woods is off and running this week at the BMW Championship, shooting an eight-under 62 during his first round Thursday, his lowest score of the year. It vaulted him straight into the lead on Day 1 at Aronimink Golf Club.
Woods shot 29 on his first nine, and held on with three more birdies on his second nine. That opening-nine 29 included four birdies and an eagle, the latter of which was the most impressive. Woods carved a long-iron from 241 yards into the 16th green. His ball bounded onto the putting surface just short of the hole and ran out to five feet. He walked in the eagle putt moments later and pushed his name to the top of the leaderboard.
EAGLE for @TigerWoods.
He’s the solo leader. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/NW35JcHFd7
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 6, 2018
This week Woods has reunited with his old-faithful Scotty Cameron blade putter, and after sticking a short iron to five feet on 18, he brought out the Scotty and poured in the putt. Playing alongside Woods, Rickie Fowler shot four under on his opening nine and barely caused a stir.
Woods then added another birdie on the 10th hole, extending his lead with a beautiful 13-foot putt. It’s fair to say his flatstick stroke looked great.
7-under through 10 holes. @TigerWoods is on fire. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/0C9osjg3Zg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 6, 2018
From there, it was a long string of pars until the par-4 16th hole, where Woods tossed in a wedge to just nine inches. After that tap-in birdie, he needed birdie-eagle on the last two holes for a 59. His shot into the par-3 8th was lackluster — perhaps his worst of the day — and Woods failed to get up and down, making his first and only bogey.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was on the course putting a great round together himself. He made four straight birdies in the middle of his round, reaching seven under through 12 holes to match Woods atop the leaderboard. Tiger quickly made a birdie on his final hole of the day and signed for eight under. By the time he did so, McIlroy had added another birdie of his own.
It has been more than five years since Woods last won on the PGA Tour, despite multiple chances where he’s been in contention this season. Yet Woods has rarely been out in front. His first-round scoring average this season has been 71.13, which ranks 140th on Tour. Seven birdies and an eagle on Thursday will improve that stat.
Woods will tee off in his second round with Fowler and Jordan Spieth at 12:25 Friday.
