In his second start after a 12-week layoff, Tiger Woods briefly held the lead in his opening round of the PGA Championship but all of that began to crumble as the day progressed at the Atlantic Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia.
After five holes, things were looking rosy for Woods. Then he began to find the water and the sand and finished with a disastrous 7-over 77 for the day, his worst ever PGA Championship round.
He ended the day’s play at an astounding 14 strokes off the lead, with three double bogeys and five bogeys. He found himself tied with seven other players at T140. Forget about a win … he’ll be hard pressed to make the cut.
Woods stopped briefly to talk to the media before heading into the clubhouse. He managed to say: “I’m not down. I’m really angry right now.”
The pro recently fired his long time caddie Stevie Williams, who immediately hooked up with Aussie golfer Adam Scott. The new relationship proved to be a good one, with Scott winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last Sunday.
Williams raised a few eyebrows, and delighted others when he revealed during a post-tournament interview: “It was the best week of my life.”
Currently topping the leaderboard are two Wisconsin boys. Leading at -7 is Steve Stricker, and hovering closely behind at -5 is Jerry Kelly.
Check out the 2011 PGA Championship leaderboard here.
Photo: WENN