The Barclays Golf 2010
Tiger Woods birdied his final hole to cap a first round score of 6-under-par 65 and shares the lead in the first round in the tournament in the U.S. PGA Tour Barclays, the first event he has played since announcing her divorce.
Woods, playing in the first group of the day, finished his round at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, with seven birdies and one bogey. Is tied for the lead with Ryan Palmer, who birdied seven of his first eight holes before dropping a double bogey on the par-3 10th hole. Palmer has played 13 holes.
"I hit well today," Woods told reporters. "It feels good to be able to control my ball all day like this."
The Barclays is the first of four events at the end of season playoffs on the PGA Tour, the world's richest golf circuit. The winner of the FedEx Cup, to be determined at the Tour Championship in Atlanta next month, received a bonus of $ 10 million. Woods has won the title two of the last three years.
The world No. 1 golfer released on August 23 that six-year marriage to Elin Nordegren was over, nine months after a car accident outside his home in Florida led to the revelations of his extramarital affairs.
Woods, 34, started playing today with four birdies through his first seven holes. His only bogey of the round came on the par-4 12th hole. Then a birdie on the par-5 and par 13 to 14 to get to 4-5, before briefly on the head with a birdie putt from eight feet on the final hole. Palmer birdied 13 to tie Woods.
Muddy Course
After heavy rains hit the tree-lined course in the days before the tournament, officials of today's rules allow players to lift, clean and place their golf balls in the shots of the streets of mud.
Due to the conditions, Woods chose not to hit his driver on many tee shots, instead of opting for short flight shots with a 3-wood.
"It's important to get the ball in play," Woods said. "Even if I have a 3 - or 4-iron on the street, I'd rather have that than a 7-iron in the rough. I just felt it was a better way to play golf today."
Woods said Wednesday that the completion of divorce proceedings brought a sense of sadness and relief. He said the procedure had been a distraction since returning to the golf course in the Masters Tournament in April.
The first places in the Official World Golf Ranking and winner of 14 major championships, Woods has not won since his return and must play well this week to stay in the playoffs.
Woods and Nordegren were married on October 5, 2004, and have a 3 year old daughter, Sam, and a son 19 months old, Charlie.
After tying for fourth place in the Masters and U.S. Open, Woods missed the cut in the Championship of Wells Fargo and withdrew from the Players Championship with a neck injury. In its most recent case, he tied for 28 in the PGA Championship, which ended Aug. 15.
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