I am going to be doing this live blog delayed as I was playing a round when it was on TV. That being the case, you can disregard the time stamps. They are the time stamps that I am watching it.
9:11 – Doesn’t look like Tiger is going to do an interview after his struggles. I will end it here. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for the 14 time major champ.
9:03 – Rickie and Bubba are both playing well, just as I predicted. Let’s see if they can continue it through the next three rounds.
9:00 – Tiger was five over through the first eight holes and then played par golf. He will finish at +5 (77). He had four duffed chips so there is plenty of room for improvement.
8:57 – Final iron shot for Tiger here. He hits a fade long. Not a bad shot though. Let’s see how bad his putting is here.
8:54 – Tiger’s last drive. He hits it very hard and ends up in the fairway. He has his distance back. Now he needs to learn to chip and putt again.
8:47 – Tiger duffs ANOTHER chip. That is number four. This is unreal. Has he ever been this bad chipping? The second chip is better and he will now be putting for par on a par 5. Wow. Tiger saves par to avoid three straight sixes on the par 5s.
8:46 – Jordan Spieth with the left hand low, forward press putting stroke. He is playing very well and leads by one.
8:44 – Going after it in two here for Tiger. He ends up just to the left of the green. Not a bad wood from the deck but his chipping has been terrible. This should be an adventure.
8:39 – Jordan Spieth is trying to hit a 5 iron 225 yards. Dear Lord. He ends up on the front of the green.
8:37 – And Tiger misses another putt. Rinse. Repeat.
8:35 – The more I watch this the more Isleworth reminds me of Hasentree. Burmudagrass fairways and rough and a super long par 4 18th hole. Sounds familiar.
8:34 – Tiger has 112 yards here. He hits a wedge and it is the perfect distance. Let’s see if he can hit a putt here. Who knows.
8:32 – The 13th hole at Isleworth green complex reminds me of the green complex of Hasentree #2. Unless you hit the green in the right spot you are going to fall off.
8:27 – OK, Tiger. This is a long birdie putt; just hit it well. He has good speed but misses a bit. Still not putting the way we would all like to see.
8:26 – Zach Johnson just said the greens are likely rolling at 13 right now. Those are very fast greens.
8:24 – Rickie hits a good full wedge that allows him to spin it back on the green. I absolutely love playing that shot.
8:22 – Tiger at the Par 3 15th. It plays about 225. He hits a pretty good shot but will be left with a 15 footer for birdie. We really need to see him start to putt and chip the ball better.
8:20 – Tiger misses the birdie putt. We have seen this way too much over the last few years.
8:17 – Tiger hits a pitch into 14 and will have a short birdie putt. That was a really good shot.
8:12 – Took a little break but now I am watching the DVR again.
6:55 – Tiger duffs another chip and it is coming right back down to him. He was a few inches from an eagle putt and now he will be happy for par. He duffs a second one that is even worse. He hits a good fifth shot and will end up one putting for a bogey. Terrible chipping. No doubt about it.
6:52 – Tiger is going after the par 5 13th in two. He has a 6 iron. Yes, a 6 iron into a par 5. He went after it hard and should have had an eagle putt. Instead it rolls back off the green and he will be chipping.
6:48 – After watching WAY too much Spieth and Patrick Reed we get to see Tiger with the big stick. He has a neon green Nike Vapor Driver. He hits it in the middle of the fairway and long. Woooo!
6:39 – Patrick Reed looks so dumpy on the golf course. He is way too confident for his game.
6:36 – Tiger hits an amazing wedge on 12th. It rolls right by the hole as he almost holes it out from the fairway. Looks like his first birdie of the tournament; back to four over.
6:35 – Spieth now has six birdies in his first 10 holes to go six under. What an amazing start at Isleworth.
6:33 – Rickie Fowler hitting into the 11th here. He puts his tee shot just left of the flag. He will have a great chance for birdie here.
6:28 – Tiger hits a draw on the par 3 11th. He hits a good shot and will have a chance for birdie; his best iron shot of the day so far. He burns the edge and misses the putt. In my opinion, Tiger’s posture is not good. He looks to be slouching, even on his putts.
6:26 – They are claiming the greens are running around 12.5 on the stimpmeter.
6:24 – Tiger with a long birdie putt that is downhill. Tiger burns the edge. There is quite a bit of talk about Chris Como and how he is likely to help Tiger with his swing. It is interesting to note that Notah Begay mentioned that Como wasn’t a technical teacher but more of a feel teacher. This is very good news in my opinion.
6:22 – Jordan Spieth hits another one close. This is going to be a short birdie putt to go to -5.
6:21 – Tiger hits a pitching wedge but is about 10 yards too long. I honestly don’t like Tiger’s setup with short irons right now.
6:20 – So we see Keegan Bradley with a shorter putter for the first time. It will be interesting to see how he putts as he has been a long putter forever.
6:18 – Tiger hits a 5 wood/metal with a draw off the tee. Hey, good shot.
6:17 – Spieth hits a short birdie butt to take it to -4. He is two ahead of the rest of the field.
6:16 – Justin Rose just putted an eagle putt all the way off the green. All the way into the bermuda rough. You don’t see that often from PGA Tour pros.
6:12 – Woods eyeing a long birdie putt on the 9th green; no way he hits this putt. This is an uphill putt; let’s see if he gets it there. He gets it to the putt and it is pretty good. He will take a par. Tiger shot a 59 on this course in which he used to practice with Mark O’Meara.
6:10 – Rickie Fowler for birdie to get one closer to even. I still think Rickie can win this one. Look for Rickie and Bubba to both play well. Jordan Spieth is playing well early; he hits a great wedge shot and will likely putt that one in for a birdie.
6:09 – Notah Begay walking with Tiger. He has been sloppy in every part of his game says Notah. We learned that Tiger was OB with his first tee shot. Looks as if nothing has changed; Chris Como has a lot of work to do.
6:05 – Our first swing of Tiger is a duffed chip. He will take a double here and go right back to last place. Not looking good on the front nine for the former world #1.
