Greens the difference for Woods

THERE WAS less smiling, joking, idle chit-chat that has characterised some of their recent times on the golf course. Tiger Woods meant business when he strode onto the first tee to join Rory McIlroy for the opening round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. There’s more than $10 million at stake.

The American world number two shot a four-under 66 – he was joined at the top of the leaderboard in the 30-man field by England’s Justin Rose – three shots better than McIlroy’s 69. The difference, outside of the respective figures, was on the greens, where Woods availed of more chances. He admitted: “I played well today. It was a very consistent round, struck the ball well and holed some putts.”

McIlroy too was satisfied with the way he struck the ball: “We both played pretty well. I thought the quality of the golf was pretty good,” before adding, “I didn’t hole a putt all day.” That was it in a nutshell.

He caught some bad breaks along the way but he gritted his teeth, ostensibly at times, and fought to post a decent score. On several occasions he left putts inches short, slap bang on line; other times he scrambled to make pars, his bunker play a shining beacon of excellence in a game flecked by the rustiness of a two-week competitive hiatus.

Nursing a cold blade stress-tested his iron play, as the 23-year-old world number one chased pins on several occasions. It was a largely fruitless pursuit. Woods, in contrast, got the ball closer, simplifying his task on his greens; ultimately that was the difference between their scores.

McIlroy’s start was a tad shabby, missing the first fairway, pulling his second long and left and catching the rough a foot through the green. It wasn’t the most difficult chip but he chunked it, leaving a 12-foot putt for par, which he couldn’t negotiate.

If the Northern Ireland golfer was looking for a good swing to settle his nerves he didn’t find it on the par-three second hole, pulling his five iron into a greenside bunker. He did though produce a gorgeous escape from the sand trap, finishing a foot from the pin.

His American playing partner and closest pursuer in the FedEx rankings struck the first blow when holing his 23-foot birdie putt to move to one under. Woods’s demeanour exuded a singular focus and another stunning iron shot approach, this time to the par four third, gave him a five-foot birdie putt which he converted to move to two under par. Seconds earlier McIlroy had caressed a curling, 14-foot putt into the cup for birdie.

Woods caught a bad break on the fourth, suffering a mud-ball after his tee shot; it would ultimately lead to a visit to sand and a bogey. Tiger was tetchy, manifest in slamming his club after the bunker shot and then on the next hole, animatedly cursing his luck when his second shot refused to skirt the apron.

McIlroy just could not get the pace of the greens, leaving a couple of gilt edged birdie opportunities agonisingly short. The most annoying will have been the par-five ninth, where he spanked a drive 346 yards but missed the green left with an iron, short-siding himself, and then failed to get up and down for birdie. Woods did and took a two-shot lead over his playing partner as they set out for home.

The American chipped in for birdie at the 12th but McIlroy followed him in with a 20-foot putt. The 13th threatened to be a seminal moment. McIlroy hit a couple of errant shots and faced a downhill putt from a different post code for a par.

He holed and then watched Tiger pull his six foot birdie putt left and wide.

Bogeys at 13, birdies at 14, they remained locked in a compelling duel. On 15, Woods struck another blow, stretching the gap to three shots with another birdie. McIlroy watched his effort slide across the face of the hole. It was a barometer of his fortunes on the greens.

The Northern Irishman under-clubbed at the par-three 18th but displayed a beautiful touch with the wedge to rescue a par. Woods couldn’t convert another glorious iron, staring as his 11-foot birdie putt faded under the cup.

He’d done enough: round one to the American.