Tiger Woods found out how tough Innisbrook can be in a swirling wind, and he was up to the task as he signed for a 70 on Thursday.
Woods smacked his hands into a pine during a bold escape from the trees for par and was among only about 20% of the field that managed to break par at the Valspar Championship.
Canadian rookie Corey Conners didn’t make a bogey until his final hole at the 9th for a four-under 67. He had a one-shot lead over Nick Watney, Whee Kim and Kelly Kraft.
Woods made five birdies in his 70. It was his first time to break par in the opening round of a PGA Tour event since a 64 in the 2015 Wyndham Championship – just six tournaments ago because of back surgeries.
Playing with Woods, Jordan Spieth didn’t start as well. The 2015 Valspar champion shot 76 to tie Spieth’s highest score at Copperhead and is just his fifth over-par score in 17 rounds here. He also shot a first-round 76 here in 2016 en route to a T18 finish.
Rory McIlroy’s struggles continued in his debut at the Valspar Championship. He three-putted the last hole for 74, his fifth consecutive over-par round. It’s the first time since April 2010 that McIlroy has had more than four consecutive over-par rounds on the Tour. He’s 12 over par in his past five rounds.
The Northern Irishman didn’t hole a birdie putt in round one with his sole birdie coming from holing out of the 16th bunker.
Joining Tiger Woods at -1 through 18 was South African duo Charl Schwartzel and Rory Sabbatini with Louis Oosthuizen and Ernie Els finishing level while Branden Grace struggled to a 72.
First round leaderboard at the Valspar Championship (par 71):
67 – Corey Conners (CAN)
68 – Whee Kim (KOR), Kelly Kraft, Nick Watney
69 – Keegan Bradley, Russell Knox (SCO), Jimmy Walker
70 – Rory Sabbatini (RSA), Luke List, Stewart Cink, Luke Donald (ENG), Justin Rose (ENG), Chris Kirk, Sergio Garcia (ESP), Adam Scott (AUS), Steve Stricker, Blayne Barber, Bob Estes, Paul Casey (ENG), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Andrew Putnam, Lucas Glover, Dominic Bozzelli, a-Dylan Meyer
Saffa leaderboard:
Photo: Getty Images
