Tiger Woods score: Round 1 recap, highlights from Memorial Tournament

Zac Al-Khateeb

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Tiger Woods score: Round 1 recap, highlights from Memorial Tournament image

Tiger Woods ended the opening round of the Memorial Tournament the same way he started it: With an even score.

Tiger faced several hurdles early on in the round, getting as high as 4-over through just seven holes before mounting a comeback in the front nine to salvage the day.

MORE: What's next for on Tiger's 2018 PGA schedule?

He'll have plenty of experience to go off for his second round tomorrow, and he may want to start with those par-5s (finishing 1-over for the day on said holes).

Regardless, here's a recap of Tiger's first round at the Memorial Tournament:

Tiger Woods' score: Round 1
Memorial Tournament

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Hole (Par) Tiger's score  Place
10 (4) (4) Even T-13
11 (5) (5) 1-over T-40
12 (3) (3) 1-over T-44
13 (4) (4) 1-over T-43
14 (4) (4) 1-over T-38
15 (5) (7) 3-over T-57
16 (3) (4) 4-over T-58
17 (4) (3) 3-over T-56
18 (4) (4) 3-over T-55
1 (4) (4) 3-over T-53
2 (4) (3) 2-over T-47
3 (4) (4) 2-over T-48
4 (3) (4) 3-over T-51
5 (5) (4) 2-over T-49
6 (4) (3) 1-over T-51
7 (5) (4) Even T-29
8 (3) (3) Even T-30
9 (4) (4) Even T-36

HOLE 9: Par 4, 412 yards

Recapping Hole 9:

— First putt: Tiger lands the shot to salvage an even score for the day. Considering he was at once 4-over, he'll likely take it. PAR
— Approach: Tiger wedges onto the green and is 6 feet from the hole.
— Second shot: No harm done, Tiger lays up onto the back of the fairway before the water hazard, roughly 60 yards from the hole.
— Tee shot: Tiger's first errant tee shot looks like it clips the trees on the left side of the fairway.

HOLE 8: Par 3, 185 yards

— Second putt: He sinks it and has one more hole to get under through Round 1. PAR
— First putt: The lag scoots a foot or two past the hole, but he's in great shape to maintain par.
— Tee shot: A solid tee shot lands Tiger dead center of the green, 37 feet from birdie. Likely would have wanted a little more distance on it but at worst he's looking at par.

HOLE 7: Par 5, 563 yards

Recapping Hole 7:

— First putt: And he has it! A third consecutive birdie moves Tiger back to even with two holes left to play. BIRDIE
— Third shot: Tiger's out of the bunker and into tap-in range for birdie. Great shot at getting back to even.
— Approach: Tiger's approach lands in the right-side bunker, but he still has a chance at an up-and-down on the par-5 seventh.
— Tee shot: Tiger's tee lands on the left side of the green at the bend between the four sand traps. He has 281 yards to the hole from here.

HOLE 6: Par 4, 447 yards

Recapping Hole 6:

— First putt: Back-to-back birdies get Tiger back to 1-over for the day with three holes left. A par-5 is a great opportunity to get back to even. BIRDIE
— Approach: He nearly holes out on the approach (would have been an eagle) but will have a great look at birdie from 3 feet.
— Tee shot: Tiger splits the fairway to land 135 yards from the hole. Nice.

HOLE 5: Par 5, 527 yards

— Second putt: And he gets it to fall. He's back to 2-over for the day. BIRDIE
— First putt: He gets a good look at it but falls about 5 feet short. Pretty easy attempt at a birdie coming up.
— Approach: He's on the far side of the green, 51 feet from a lag-putt eagle. 
— Tee shot: He uses the iron off the tee and likes the shot. A break from his previous two par-5 tee shots.

HOLE 4: Par 3, 200 yards

— Third putt: It goes in for a three-putter. Good news is he has a par-5 coming up to get it back. Bad news is he's 3-over through two par-5s so far today. BOGEY
— Second putt: He misses. He has a foot from bogey upcoming.
— First putt: The birdie attempt goes way long and leaves him 7 feet from par on the other side of the hole.
— Tee shot: Tiger's on the green, looking at 21 feet for birdie. Sinking that would be killer but we may be looking at a two-putt par here.

HOLE 3: Par 4, 401 yards

Recapping Hole 3:

— First putt: And he doesn't. PAR
— Third shot: Tiger gets a nice chip shot to land the ball about 4 feet from par. Can't miss this one.
— Approach: Tiger's approach is a tad long and clears the green but it seems to have fallen short of the bunker.
— Tee shot: Tiger gets something resembling a stinger onto the fairway. He's much more comfortable off the tee thus far through the front nine.

HOLE 2: Par 4, 455 yards

— First putt: There's his second birdie of the day to bring him back to 2-over. Things are looking up. BIRDIE
— Approach: Lands on the green again and has a 7-footer to make for birdie.
— Tee shot: Another fairway leaves Tiger looking at 150 yards between him and the hole.

HOLE 1: Par 4, 470 yards

— Second putt: PAR
— First putt: And the long birdie attempt doesn't sink. Another tap-in par upcoming.
— Approach: Tiger's left of the green, flirting with the fringe. He'll have a 25-look at birdie here.
— Tee shot: Tiger finds the fairway with the wood on Hole 1. That's his third fairway in a row and fourth overall.

HOLE 18: Par 4, 484 yards

— Second putt: It's in. PAR
— First putt: Tiger just misses it and will settle for the two-putt par.
— Approach: Tiger's on the left side of the green, 15 feet from birdie.
— Tee shot: Tiger finds the fairway again, right at the bend. A good look at the green from here.

HOLE 17: Par 4, 478 yards

Recapping Hole 17:

— First putt: And he makes it! That's his first of the day and it puts him back to 3-over heading into the final hole of the back nine. BIRDIE
— Approach: Tiger's on the green, about 10 feet from a birdie. 
— Tee shot: Tiger hits just his second fairway on eight holes this morning. Progress.

HOLE 16: Par 3, 201 yards

— Second putt: BOGEY
— First putt: Woof. The par attempt misses. Another bogey upcoming. That'll tie him for dead last among the 60 active golfers on the course at the moment.

— Approach: Tiger's on the green, looking at a 7-foot par attempt. Nothing guaranteed here though.
— Tee shot: Looks like Tiger cleared the green to the left and is now in the left-side bunker. 

HOLE 15: Par 5, 529 yards

Recapping Tiger's terrible, no good, very bad Hole 15:

— Second putt: DOUBLE BOGEY
— First putt: He misses. That'll give Tiger a double bogey. He's now 3-over, with all the damage done on par-5 holes. Ouch.
— Approach: Tiger's on the green, 7 feet from the hole. But that will be for bogey.
— Fourth shot: Looks like Tiger's heading right again, trying to find the green-side bunker.
— Third shot (with penalty): Tiger takes the penalty and tries again. He finds the fairway this time.
— Tee shot: Another disastrous start on a par-5. It's way right, hitting some trees ... might have even gone out of bounds into some houses. Tiger smashed his club almost immediately after impact.

HOLE 14: Par 4, 363 yards

— Second putt: PAR
— First putt: Tiger's long birdie attempt is achingly close but falls short. He'll settle for par and stay 1-over through five holes today.
— Approach: Tiger lands on the far side of the green, roughly 20 feet from birdie. Excellent hole so far.
— Tee shot: Tiger finally finds the fairway, ripping it down the middle. Best look all day so far.

HOLE 13: Par 4, 455 yards

— Second putt: And he sinks it. Tiger's not getting any worse — but not any better. PAR
— First putt: Tiger puts a little too much on the long birdie attempt and it stops 4 feet past the hole. Should have a tap-in par here.
— Approach: Tiger does a good job to get out of that spot and lands himself on the middle of the green, 28 feet from birdie.
— Tee shot: And Tiger's left of the fairway again. Needs to correct that here soon. Regardless he'll try to swing his way out from the front lip of the bunker (which he hit again).

HOLE 12: Par 3, 184 yards

— Second putt: PAR
— First putt: Close, but no cigar. The birdie attempt lips out and he'll stay 1-over.
— Tee shot: Tiger's best shot of the day lands him 12 feet from birdie on the par-3. Would be great to get a stroke back after that disaster on 11.

HOLE 11: Par 5, 567 yards

Recapping Tiger's attempt at Hole 11:

— First putt: It's in. Only fair to mention the course is wet from some recent rain. Tiger will have to overcome that going forward. BOGEY
— Approach: He's on the back of the green, a few inches from bogie.
— Third shot: Tiger still can't find the green, even with a long iron. His ball falls short and into the creek. He'll take the penalty and shoot again. This is disastrous on the par-5.
— Second shot: Tiger — from behind a tree, in the rough, ball below his feet — can only advance if about 50 yards back into the fairway after clipping some trees.
— Tee shot: Tiger pulls it left again — way left. Looks like it's flirting with the creek left of the fairway.

HOLE 10: Par 4, 471 yards

— Second putt: And he sinks it. PAR
— First putt: Tiger's long look at birdie cuts just a bit too early and breaks in front of the hole. He has a tap-in for par.
— Approach: Tiger does a good job getting out of the bunker and onto the middle of the green, and now has a 42-foot look at birdie.
— Tee shot: Tiger's first shot of the day veers left into the bunker. And we're off.

Memorial Tournament live updates: Round 1

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.