IN THE MIX: Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the third hole during yesterday’s 4-under 67.
It was a day marred by rain, and it was the rain that seemingly kept Tiger Woods from charging to the early lead at The Barclays.
The No. 1 player in the world who sits atop the FedEx Cup standings shot a scattered 4-under 67 yesterday in the first round at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, placing him three shots behind leader Kevin Stadler.
“I’m actually tired,” said Woods. “I got up at 4:00 in the morning, and I think it took us, from start to finish just under 11 hours.”
Woods teed off on the 10th hole at 8:16 a.m. and was 3-under through seven holes when play was first halted at 11:05 a.m. Through the next 11 holes — and through another drawn-out rain delay — Woods was only able to scrap together one more birdie and all pars, finishing in the waning sunlight and frustrated with an opportunity gone by.
“I didn’t play the par-5s well,” said Woods, who was even-par on the three par-5s. “Other than that, I played pretty solid today and I gave myself some looks; and the looks I did, I ended up making. If I can play the par-5s a little better, I would have been higher on the board.”
Woods made a curling 6-foot par putt on his final hole to keep from having frustration boil over into today, when he should tee off sometime in the late afternoon with Nos. 2 and 3 in the standings, Matt Kuchar (5-under) and Brandt Snedeker (1-over). Every player in the field teed off, but only about half the field finished before play was called for darkness just before 8 p.m.
Play will resume today at 7 a.m., and the hope is the second round can start at 9:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, Woods said he woke up with stiffness in his neck and back from sleeping on a soft hotel bed, and the two rain delays that totaled just short of six hours didn’t help that issue at all.
“The back was stiff going out on the third restart, but it is what it is,” said the 37-year old, who hasn’t won a major championship in five years and last won the aggregate FedEx Cup playoff most recently in 2009.
The last time this event was played at Liberty National, certain pros, including Woods, were outspoken in their criticism of the course, saying it was unfairly penal. Well, after some recent renovations and the pulling back of the primary rough, the golf course was there for the taking.
“The conditions were great,” said Stadler, who is one shot in front of the three-man group at 6-under, consisting of Ryan Palmer, Henrik Stenson and Camilo Villegas. “I knew I was hitting the ball well and to see a couple putts match up well and go in, it was a good day.”
Woods got himself into contention by making three consecutive birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 16. After putting his second shot on the green of the par-4 17th, play was halted for the first time and so was his momentum.
When he came back out, Woods was often stretching his back and neck, and was constantly turning in disgust as he missed numerous iron shots to the left.
Nevertheless, Woods knows there are more long days ahead of him, not just here, a stone’s throw across the river from downtown Manhattan, but going forward as golf’s four-tournament playoffs continue.
“I’m only three back,” Woods said. “I mean, we have a long way to go.”