Tiger Woods got off to a disastrous start at the PGA Championship, going bogey double-bogey over his first two holes. But Tiger’s fortunes did a 360 thereafter, assisted, perhaps, by a shirt change. That is, if you believe what you read on Twitter.
Woods battled to keep his tee shots on line from the start on Thursday at Bellerive. He sliced his drive right on the 10th hole (his first of the day) into deep rough. He had to pitch out from there on the long par-4, leading to an opening bogey. It got worse at 2. After another wayward drive, he hit his second into the pond that guards the right side of the green. Double bogey.
Walking off the 2nd green, Woods somehow found himself already at three over. Then, Tiger reportedly ditched his sweat-soaked shirt and changed into a new one before starting the 3rd.
Extensive photo research shows Woods playing the 10th hole with a shirt already drenched in sweat thanks to the oppressive Missouri summer heat.
That, of course, would conveniently explain the need for such an early wardrobe change. Though he did swap his top, the new shirt was the exact same Nike design as the first one, albeit a whole lot drier.
From there, things turned around in a big way for Woods. He got one shot back immediately with a birdie at the 3rd. He would continue to battle back and finish with a respectable even-par 70.
New shirt. New Tiger. Birdie on 12.
— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) August 9, 2018
Tiger changed his shirt after double-bogeying his second hole of the day… made birdie on the next hole pic.twitter.com/0ASFnJoox4
— GolfWRX (@GolfWRX) August 9, 2018
Tiger changing shirts 3 holes into the tournament pic.twitter.com/NEvCZjEGQb
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 9, 2018
So, first shirt Tiger sucks, but second shirt Tiger was 3 under par. I like…. https://t.co/nNZPkARz3f
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 9, 2018
Admittedly, and despite the birdie at 3, Woods continued to struggle for much of the front nine (even with his new shirt) before truly turning things around with back-to-back birdies at 18 and 1. But don’t tell that to the Twitter conspiracy theorists.
Asked about the shirt swap after the round, Tiger explained matter-of-factly, “I tried everything. I just sweat a lot. It is what it is.”
How does Tiger feel after his round?
Hot. pic.twitter.com/DJCewhPmDG
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 9, 2018
Alas, the relief didn’t last long, as evidenced by the below photo of Woods at 15, just three holes later.
