BMW Championship 2018: Tiger Woods scorches to season's best 62 in opening round

If much of the talk since Tiger Woods’ return to the apex of golf has been about the change in approach off the tee, his blistering performance here on day one of the BMW Championship owed much to the flattest club in his bag instead.

After just nine holes of practice on Tuesday Woods made the bold call to change his putter for this week in Aronimink. After a brief flirtation with alternative equipment – and despite a positive week on the greens in Boston a week ago – Woods has opted again for his old Scotty Cameron putter, the very same he used in all but one of his 14 Major championship wins.

Putts of 20ft, 14ft and 10ft in three of his opening four holes suggest he made the right call and set the table for Woods to grab this latest FedEx Cup Playoff by the scruff of the neck and never look back.

“I've been monkeying around with it back home and in the backyard. It never felt right,” he said on his decision to return to his old flat stick. “It feels good, you know. I know the release point and I know how it swings and my body morphed into a position where it understands where it needs to be to release the putter.

“I've hit hundreds of millions of putts. I've had it since '99. I've hit putts with it. My body just remembers it. Even when I was using the Nike putter I always bring it out and hit putts with it. Sometimes it works but it just feels very familiar to me.”

The Woods of old was famed for his scorching starts, laying the competition to waste and vanishing into the sunset straight from the get-go. And if he can maintain the field-leading tee to green accuracy allied with the laser-guided putting he showed here on Thursday then he’ll be right in the mix come Sunday.

open image in gallery

He’ll have to keep Rory McIlroy at bay to do it though as the Northern Irishman, powered by six straight birdies around the turn, threw him into an overnight share of the lead. American Xander Schauffele was one back on seven under on a sweltering day that was set up for low scoring.

“It's so hot and the ball is going forever and so it's just really not playing its yardage,” Woods added. “Every hole is 455 to 480 but that's just driver and wedge under these conditions right now.

“That's going to change, the rain comes in and the ball is not rolling, not flying as far but as of right now it's pretty short.”

Starting on 10 Woods’ opening trio of birdies were bettered with an eagle at 16 thanks to a nigh-on-perfect 240-yard approach to within five feet. A further birdie at 18 saw him out in 29 before he picked up another shot on the field at 1.

open image in gallery

While playing partner Jordan Spieth struggled to find his range all afternoon Woods continued to set the pace. It wasn’t until the 5^th, his 14^thhole of the day, that Woods missed his first green in regulation. An exquisite chip from a nasty lie saved his par with the minimum of fuss.

His only false shot, a crossover over the back of the fiendishly difficult 242-yard par three 8^th, saw him drop his only shot of the day as he closed with a seventh birdie to post a 62, his lowest round since 2013.

“The fairways are ample wide and the greens are soft. We're driving it down there anywhere between 310 and 340 so it's really not that long a golf course right now.

“There are a lot of wedges and you have to hit them well, get your distances right. Give yourself at least 10, 12 looks at putts and you get on a hot run like I did.”