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[세인트앤드루스(스코틀랜드)=이데일리 스타in 주영로 기자] St Andrews Old Course 9th hole (par 4). A loud shout rang out as if the area around the green was regarding to leave. Tiger Woods (USA), who struggled with two double bogeys and two bogeys, caught a birdie for the first time since the opening of The Open.
The first round of the 150th The Open (total prize money of $14 million) was held at the Old Course (par 72) in St Andrews, Scotland, UK on the 15th (Korean time). Woods, who played with Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) and Max Homar (USA) at 2:59 pm local time, had bad luck from the first hole (par 4). He hit his tee shot 247 yards, but his second shot fell into the creek in front of the green. He received a penalty of one stroke and put the ball on the green in four, but lost two to a double bogey following a bogey putt regarding 12 meters away went off the hole.
He seemed to catch his breath following finishing the 2nd hole (par 4) with a par, but a mistake occurred once more on the 3rd hole (par 4). The tee shot fell into the rough on the left side of the fairway, and the second shot failed to get the ball to the green. The third shot went past the hole and stopped regarding 5m. Far putt missed and lost one more stroke.
Woods, who also bogeyed on the fourth hole (par 4), forgot four strokes only in the early days and was pushed out of the top 100. After that, his performance showed no sign of recovery. On the 7th hole (par 4), a tee shot error came out once more, and he faced a crisis. The tee shot was hooked and flew to the left and landed in the bunker on the 12th hole. The ball hit here did not go to the green, and following hitting it one more time, the ball was put on the green for the fourth stroke. After finishing with two putts, Woods recorded his second double bogey that day.
He lost six shots on eight holes, but the cheers of fans for Woods did not diminish. He shouted ‘Get in the hole’ or ‘Tiger’ louder with each shot.
Woods, who broke the long silence on the 9th hole (par 4) and caught the first birdie, also caught a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4), thrilling the fans gathered at the 7-11th hole grand stand, the signature of the St Andrews Old Course.
The 7th to 11th holes of this golf course are the best viewing point areas with 5 holes. In particular, the 7th and 11th, 8th and 10th holes are characterized by a unique structure in which two holes share one green each. f The 7th green, the grand stand behind the 8th hole teeing ground, and the grand stand installed next to the 11th hole teeing ground, wait for tens of minutes every day to get a seat.
Woods, who made fans enthusiastic with his consecutive birdies, showed another shot hunt, adding only one birdie and pouring out three bogeys, finishing tied for 146th with a 6-over-par 78 on that day alone. The expected cutoff was even-par, so Woods had to reduce the pressure by at least six strokes in the second round to succeed in the finals.
Woods has won the Open three times, two of them at the St Andrews Old Course. He won his first appearance in 2000 and won his second in 2005. Woods, who did not win the St Andrews Old Course following that, returned to the holy land of golf once more following 7 years since 2015, but showed a sluggish start on the first day and walked away from the competition for the championship.
Woods, 46, is unlikely to return to the Open at the St Andrews Old Course every five years. It’s the 2nd round that might be the last stage, so I’m getting more attention.
