Tiger Woods

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tiger Woods three-putted his final two holes Thursday to shoot an opening-round 1-over 72 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, showing a lot of the rust expected of someone with just 96 holes of competitive golf in the last five months.

Woods started on No. 10 at Valhalla early Thursday morning and never got any momentum despite beginning on the easier side of the course. Four bogeys and three birdies later, he heads into Friday 10 shots back of Xander Schauffele, who set a new PGA Championship scoring record with a first-round 62.

"It took me probably three holes to get back into competitive flow again and get a feel for hitting the ball out there in competition, adrenaline, temperatures, green speeds," Woods told reporters after the round. "These are all things that, normally, I adjust to very quickly. And it just took me a few holes to get into it."

Woods got it to 1-under par for the day after birdies at Nos. 3 and 7 but immediately made the two closing bogeys to end the round on a sour note.

"Well, I three-whipped the last two holes," he said. "Wasn't very good. Bad speed on 8, whipped it past the hole. And 9, hit it short. Hit it off the heel of the putter and blocked the second one. So wasn't very good on the last two holes."

IMAGES | Round 1 of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville

And the numbers told the story too. Woods was just about average in every statistical category, per Data Golf, neither losing or gaining more than one stroke against the field in any of the five measurements.

Woods has finished just one tournament this year, a tie for 60th at The Masters in which he made the cut for a record 24th consecutive time but faded on the weekend — at least, in part — due to a body that struggles to withstand nearly 100 holes of golf in a week.

He'll be in a fight Friday to make the cut, which will be the top 70 players and ties.

"You have to just grind it out," Woods said. "It's a marathon. Major championships are a long grind. It's just plodding along. It's not a sprint. It's just a grind."

His various back and knee surgeries are well documented, but it was his car crash in April 2022 that really put his body in the position it's in now. The single-car rollover crash in southern California shattered Woods' right ankle, leaving him with virtually no mobility in it. He had another surgery on that ankle earlier this year but remains stiff and hobbled on the course, unable to utilize the flexibility that world class golf requires.

"Each day is a little bit different," Woods said after Thursday's round. "Some days, it's better than others. It's just the way it is. My body is just that way. Some days, it feels great, and other days, a bit of a struggle."

Woods tees off at 1:29 p.m. Friday off No. 1.

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