HOYLAKE, England — It might not have been complete vintage Tiger Woods, circa 2006 when he dissected Royal Liverpool like a CSI agent poring over evidence in the crime lab en route to his 11th major championship victory and third British Open title.
But his rally from a bogey-bogey start on the first two holes of his first major championship of 2014 did provide at least a flashback to the old Woods in Thursday’s opening round at Hoylake.
There was a span that lasted for some 90 minutes when Woods birdied five of six holes from Nos. 11 through 16 that was pure, vintage Woods, who was en route to shooting a 3-under-par 69 to stand three shots off Rory McIlroy’s lead at 6-under par entering Friday’s second round.
Asked afterward by a reporter whether it felt like “old times,’’ Woods sounded almost appalled at the question.
“It wasn’t that long ago,’’ Woods said. “I did win five times last year.’’
Fair enough. But he has not won a major championship in six years, hasn’t won a British in eight years and is three months removed from back surgery.
So no need for indignant body language. Based on his ups and downs for the last six years in major championships, the jury is, without question, still out on Woods as a major championship contender.
Whether he’s able to back Thursday’s 69 up or better it on Friday — particularly with an afternoon tee time and possible windier weather than the calm he played in Thursday — is very much up for debate.
What was not up for debate was the guile Woods showed after his tentative start, during which he looked like he was trying too hard not to make a big mistake that led to a big number.
“I’m not going to be the only guy in a 72-hole event to make two bogeys,” Woods said. “I just got mine out of the way early.”
Woods hit just one driver, at the par-5 16th hole, the same number he hit for the entire week eight years ago at Hoylake. He hit 10-of-14 fairways and 14-of-18 greens in regulation and needed 28 putts.
“I felt good about a lot of things I did out there — especially coming back after that start I had, to fight my way back into the championship,’’ Woods said. “It wasn’t exactly the greatest of starts, bogeying the first two, and especially the second hole was a sloppy three-putt there. I turned it around and grinded my way around.’’
McIlroy’s spotless 66 featured little grinding. He hit it purely and looked comfortable all the way around.
“Anytime you shoot 66 at the Open Championship, you’re going to be pleased,’’ McIlroy said. “We had perfect scoring conditions out there. There wasn’t much wind early on. There was plenty of opportunities to make birdies. I was able to take a few of them. Another great start and, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there [Friday].’’
Fridays for McIlroy, however, have been a problem he’s searching to fix. He’s averaged 68.0 in opening rounds in PGA Tour events and 72.9 in second rounds.
The conditions, as they always are in British Open links golf, were a crapshoot.
In Thursday’s first round, the 78 players in the first 26 groups of three were a total of 27-over par, averaging 72.35. The last 78 players in the last 26 groups were a total of 183-over par, averaging 74.35.
The morning wave of tee times had a distinct advantage, with dead calm winds, while the afternoon players had to deal with freshening winds. As a result, Adam Scott, who shot 68, was the only player with an afternoon tee time to crack the top-10 on the leaderboard.
Which wave of tee times will get the worst of the weather no one really knows.
Woods, though, left the golf course with a bounce in his step, seemingly rejuvenated by how good he feels physically since March 31 back surgery, which has limited him to only three competitive tournament rounds since he played his final round at Doral on March 9.
“That’s why it was so important for me to play at Congressional [three weeks ago at the Quicken Loans National],’’ Woods said. “[Because] I was able to recover every day, and the fact that I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played. I’m only going to get better from that point. I’m getting stronger, I’m getting faster, I’m getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again. Those are all positive things.
“It felt good to be back out there competing again.’’