Albany (The Bahamas): It was the stuff of dreams, for a while. Tiger Woods was back competing on a golf course, striking the ball long and sweet, pulling off improbable shots and racking up the birdies.
For almost two hours here at Albany, the Hero World Challenge host looked like he would make it his own party. On a day the winds died away on the par-72 7,303-yard course, Woods opened with a couple of pars before turning up the heat with four birdies over the next six holes.
It was breathtaking stuff, long irons, wedges, putter all working to perfection. It also gave him a share of the lead in this high-class field. But then, the wheels began to come off.
A bogie on the ninth hole, three miss-hits and suddenly, Woods was cascading back through the field to 17th place in the 18-strong field even as J.B. Holmes calmly worked his way into the lead with an eight-under par 64 on the opening day of the $3.5 million event.
Hot on his heels on a seven under 65 was ice-cool Japanese Hideki Matsuyama, while Dustin Johnson made a late surge to lie third on six under 66.
But it was essentially about Woods. So clean was the golf that after eight holes, he had a share of the lead with Holmes. But four wayward shots, including one on the 18th that found the water saw him in freefall. The back nine was horrendous and he closed out with a pair of double bogeys between the 15th and 18th holes.
What will give Tiger-watchers around the world hope was the ease with which he hit the ball, the backswing going long and deep, the follow-through unhindered. There was no evidence of two back surgeries and a 466-day recovery period during which he literally had to be helped out of bed at one point.
“It could have been something really good,” Woods said later. “I got off to a nice, solid start and made a few mistakes there. I didn’t play the par 5s very well in the middle part of the round and consequently, got it going the wrong way. ... But all in all, I feel pretty good. I’m looking forward to another three more days.”
For Holmes, though, it was steady work all the way. He had seven birdies and an eagle, and recent Ryder Cup success clearly has him on the upswing.
“The last two years have been great, probably the best two of my career,” he said.
“It was a great day for me. Putted well, hit my irons well and my driver well. Pretty much all around solid day and got a good score out of it, so it was a lot of fun,” Holmes, who has not won a title in 2016, said.
“Missed a couple putts I felt like I could have made, but I also made a couple putts of some length, so it was just a really good, solid day.”
Having finished at the bottom of the field last year, 21 shots behind winner Bubba Watson, Matsuyama overcame a strengthening breeze to ease his way to a classy 65.
Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar and Louis Oosthuizen were in shared third place, two behind Holmes, with defending champion Watson down in tied 12th place with an even par round.
