If Tiger Woods wants to win his first major championship in 10 years this weekend at the U.S. Open, he’s going to need to bring his A-game.
With the likes of Phil Mickelson (+7), Jordan Spieth (+8), Jason Day (+9) and Rory McIlroy (+10) seemingly already out of contention, carnage is the word of the day at Shinnecock Hills.
Tiger tees off at 1:47 p.m. ET alongside Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas, the top two players in the world. Follow along as we track Tiger’s round shot-by-shot while also providing breaking news updates for the tournament.
Hole 18 – Par 4
Tiger’s shot off the tee finds the right rough, leaving for a difficult approach shot that comes up short of the green. Tiger sticks the pitch, leaving for a tap-in par to get off the course at 8-over par.
Leaderboard update: Dustin Johnson, Russel Henley, Scott Piercy and Ian Poulter lead the way all tied at 1-under par, followed by Byeong Hun-An at even and a host of others at 1-over.
Hole 17 – Par 3
Tiger finds the green off the tee, but he’s got a lengthy look at birdie. This putt lags up nice and close, leaving for an easy par. 8-over thru 17.
Hole 16 – Par 5
BOOM! Tiger catches this one pure off the tee and has a chance to get to the green in two, but the shot comes up short and right in a bunker. His out from the bunker is pretty good, leaving about 10-feet for a much-needed birdie. “Wow,” says Tiger, who can’t help but laugh as this putt misses the right edge. Par. 8-over thru 16.
Hole 15 – Par 4
After an incredible front-nine off the tee, the back-nine has been awful for Tiger. His 3-wood goes left and finds the rough between the first cut and fescue. It’s a tough out, and his approach lands in the fairway just short of the green. Tiger desperately needs to get up-and-down here to stop the bleeding. 8-over thru 15.
Hole 14 – Par 4
RUH-ROH (Scooby Doo voice). Tiger’s 3-wood off the tee goes right. Really right. It’s on a hill in the fescue, and it won’t be easy to get out. FORE! Tiger’s second shot goes left and finds the gallery, once again, in the rough. He punches this one out into the fairway. His approach finds the green, and he’s got a 10-foot putt to save bogey. Another bogey miss, another double for Tiger, who drops to 8-over par thru 14.
Hole 13 – Par 4
Iron of the tee for Tiger and, once again, nails the fairway. His approach safely finds the green, but it’s nothing fancy. Tiger had 40 feet and a slope to go over, and the speed just wasn’t right. He left it 6 feet short and just never gave his par putt a chance. His bogey putt was just as bad and misses again, leaving a 2-footer for double-bogey. Oof. 6-over thru 13.
Hole 12 – Par 4
Another 3-wood for Tiger off the tee, another fairway hit. His approach was on the right line but comes up short of the green. This putt from the fringe stops just a few inches left of the cup, leaving for a tap-in par. That miss is gonna hurt when Tiger looks at his scorecard later. 4-over thru 12.
Hole 11 – Par 3
This hole has been giving players fits all day long. 157-yards and uphill into the wind is no easy task, and Tiger’s shot goes into a right green-side bunker. Tiger’s out isn’t great, coming up about 20-or-so feet short. Just an awful effort here, leaving it short and never giving it a chance. Bogey. 4-over thru 11.
Leaderboard update: World No. 1 sitting at No. 1.
Hole 10 – Par 4
Tiger’s iron off the tee takes a bounce into the rough, and his approach comes up short and runs down a slope in front of the green. His blind pitch up the hill is just about perfect, leaving a putt for par. 3-over thru 10.
Thoughts at the turn
Tiger’s first two holes: awful. Tiger’s next 7: championship worthy. After an abysmal effort chipping around the green on No. 1, Tiger followed a triple-bogey, bogey start with seven holes at one-under par to close out the front-nine. Tiger hit 6-7 fairways, with his only missing finding the short rough just off the fairway on No. 4. He’s hitting his driver with confidence and maneuvering around the greens (No. 1 aside) with ease. With the leader at just 2-under, Tiger is in good shape following a catastrophic start.
Hole 9 – Par 4
Tiger goes with the safe play here, smoking a 3-wood and catching a little love from a slope in the fairway to pass DJ’s tee shot. You can’t miss short here, and Tiger goes long, about 38 feet from the cup. The wind is really starting to pick up here on No. 9, the most exposed green on the course. Speeds up to 20 mph could really impact putts. He does well with the putt, playing a massive break (along with the wind) and settles up close for par. That’s a 3-over 38 on the front-nine.
Tiger’s group at the turn: Justin Thomas, 1-over 36; Dustin Johnson, 2-under 33.
Hole 8 – Par 4
Tiger’s swinging a hot stick today: that’s another fairway with the driver off the tee here on No. 8. Useful approach shot here, checking up about eight feet from the cup. This was a great birdie look but Tiger misread/mishit this one. Par. 3-over thru 8.
Oh, and here’s DJ doing No. 1 player in the world things:
Hole 7 – Par 3
Tiger’s tee shot lands long on the green and trickles off to the fringe. Nothing much more to see here: Tiger’s bump-and-run chip nestles up close to the cup for an easy par. 3-over thru 7.
Hole 6 – Par 4
Another great drive here from Tiger. That’s his fourth fairway off the tee on the day, his third with a driver. From 169-yards out Tiger sticks this one short of the hole, leaving a birdie putt from just over 18 feet. This one moves right-to-left, and Tiger had the right idea but misses. Tap-in par. 3-over thru 6.
Leaderboard update: After a double-bogey from Russel Henley on No. 10 and a bogey from DJ at No. 6, the top of the leaderboard features a nine-way tie at 1-under: Russel Henley, Brian Gay, DJ, Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter, Peter Uihlein, Xander Schauffele, Francesco Molinari and Brian Stuard.
Hole 5 – Par 5
Grip it. Rip it. Twirl it. Tiger smokes this drive perfectly into a left-to-right wind and finds the center of the fairway. He’s hitting his driver well today, meanwhile Justin Thomas for the second time goes dead-left, so far left the shot tracker couldn’t keep up. Tiger’s second shot comes up just short of the green, leaving a lot of green to work with to get up-and-down for birdie. His pitch checks up to about 4 feet and he buries the putt for birdie. 3-over thru 5.
Leaderboard update: Dustin Johnson cards back-to-back birdies to get to 2-under par, but Russell Henley’s eagle-par-birdie-birdie sequence has him in first place at 3-under par.
Hole 4 – Par 4
Tiger pulls driver again on No. 4 and catches the first-cut rough on the right side of the fairway. His approach, now for the fourth time, lands on the green but doesn’t check up and rolls off to the fringe once again. His chip is about as good as you can get without going in, leaving a tap-in par. 4-over thru 4.
Hole 3 – Par 4
This group is full of big hitters, and after Justin Thomas found the tall rough to the left, Dustin Johnson’s drive CARRIED 307 yards, and Tiger’s is even better: carrying *just* 297 yards but it ran down the right-side of the fairway ahead of DJ. From 177 out his iron lands on the green again, but for the third consecutive hole, it rolls off, this time on the fringe. The putt never had a chance and rolls up short, but Tiger is able to convert for par. 4-over thru 3.
Hole 2 – Par 3
Just your average 252-yard par 3 here on No. 2. Tiger goes with a 2-iron and lands on it on the green, but it’s tough to stop a ball on a dime from that distance. The ball rolled just off the green, leaving Tiger with another tricky putt from the fringe that he manages to get within a few feet. Sheesh. He pushes the par putt and taps-in for bogey, missing a great chance to rebound off a rough start. 4-over thru 2.
Hole 1 – Par 4
And we’re off! Tiger rips an iron right down the middle of the fairway. With the wind blowing 11 mph in his face, Tiger follows a great drive with an approach that lands on, but goes over the green. Uh-oh. Tiger’s pitch landed on the edge of the green and rolled off. He pulled putter for his fourth shot and failed to reach the green once again. His fifth skates right past the cup, leaving a lengthy look at double-bogey to start the round. That putt misses right, leaving a tap-in triple-bogey on No. 1. 3-over thru 1.
