Tiger Woods' score: Results, highlights from Round 1 at Players Championship

Jacob Janower

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Tiger Woods' score: Results, highlights from Round 1 at Players Championship image

An encouraging back nine on Thursday has Tiger Woods at 2-under par after the first round of The Players Championship.

The two-time Players champion tallied five birdies on the final nine holes at TPC Sawgrass. He finds himself five shots behind leaders Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley heading into Friday. 

A par-heavy front nine put Woods in a bind early. He failed on some opportunities on par fives to climb up the leaderboard and wound up finishing even par on those four holes.

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Wind-affected approach shots also put him in several tough positions, initially setting him back among a crowded field, but that ship was righted on the back nine. He was approaching the top ten towards the end of his round, but a bogey on the final hole led to Woods dropping a stroke. 

Woods will be teeing off at 8:32 a.m. on Friday, and will likely need an improvement from Thursday to put himself in an ideal position entering the weekend.

Sporting News tracked updates and highlights from Woods' first round at the Players at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Players Championship leaderboard

For complete scores, check out our full Players Championship leaderboard  featuring Woods and the rest of the field.

Tiger Woods' score: Results, highlights from Round 1

Hole (Par) Tiger's score   Place
1 (4) Even T-53
2 (5) Even T-60
3 (3) 1 over T-85
4 (4) 1 over T-98
5 (4) 1 over T-98
6 (4) 1 over T-102
7 (4) Even  T-70
8 (3) Even  T-69
9 (5) Even  T-65
10 (4) 1 under T-45
11 (5) Even  T-68
12 (4) 1 under T-44
13 (3) 2 under T-32
14 (4) 1 under T-45
15 (4) 1 under  T-45
16 (5) 2 under T-33
17 (3) 3 under  T-13
18 (4) 2 under T-34

(All times Eastern)

Hole 18: Par 4, 472 yards

Not the way Woods wanted to end his round. He misses the up and down par putt and bogeys 18.

Hole 17: Par 3, 121 yards

Make that two straight birdies. The tee shot on the picturesque par three winds up at the very front of the green and set up a putt that was 13 feet from the hole.

Hole 16: Par 5, 516 yards

Birdie No. 5 of the round! Much better result for Woods with a fairway wood this time, as he quickly gets on the green in two shots and wraps an easy two-putt. 

Hole 15: Par 4, 459 yards

After an unfortunate tee shot to the edge of the fairway bunker, Woods recovers with an approach shot onto the green and two-putts for par. Not ideal, but he will take it after the poor first shot.

Hole 14: Par 4, 464 yards

An ugly tee shot near that winds up near the gallery is just the start of a rough hole for Woods. His approach is short of the green and the par putt just misses. He is now 18 over in his career on No. 14 at Sawgrass. Check out this swing from the rough. 

Hole 13: Par 3, 161 yards

Some momentum is building for Woods now. He birdies the par three, sinking a 27-foot putt to go to 2 under.

Hole 12: Par 4, 317 yards

Woods gets a much-needed stroke back after driving the green and two-putting for birdie.

Hole 11: Par 5, 539 yards

A whirlwind par five for Woods, who drops a stroke after hitting his second shot into the Florida water and taking a penalty. 

Hole 10: Par 4, 429 yards

Perfect start to the back nine for Wodos. He sinks a 17-foot putt for birdie to get under par for the first time in the round.

Hole 9: Par 5, 575 yards

Not even a fairway wood on the second shot is enough to get him on the green, and a near-birdie that went just wide of the cup adds to Woods' woes. He is visibly disappointed with his par.

Hole 8: Par 3, 233 yards

The wind is playing a big role so far. Woods saves par with a mammoth two-putt after a short tee shot.

Hole 7: Par 4, 450 yards

Woods is on the board! It took seven holes, but he has his first birdie of the round, sinking a 15-foot putt to get back to even par.

Hole 6: Par 4, 378 yards

A strong approach shot continues to evade Woods, as he places this one 31 feet from the hole and two-putts for par again. He is eight strokes back of Fleetwood for the lead.

Hole 5: Par 4, 456 yards

Faced with his most makeable birdie putt of the round from 20 feet out, Woods falls short and gets another par.

Hole 4: Par 4, 391 yards

The good news for Woods? He hits his first fairway. The bad news? The approach shot falls too short and an opportunity for birdie evades him. Three pars in four holes so far. 

Hole 3: Par 3, 176 yards

It's a bogey on hole three, but Woods was lucky to just get that. HIs tee shot was short and landed below the putting surface, and a tough out forced a two-putt from 43 feet away just to go 1 over. 

Hole 2: Par 5, 536 yards

Woods overcomes another tee shot into the rough to save par. Surely not what Woods wants to make a habit of on par fives, but given the circumstances off the tee, he will take it.

Hole 1: Par 4, 415 yards

An ugly par for Woods to start, but he will take it. Tee shot nearly goes into the gallery, and he two-putts from 35 feet. Tommy Fleetwood, who has finished his round, leads at 7 under.

Jacob Janower