Tiger Woods opens 2015 season with shaky 2-over round at Phoenix Open

There was nowhere to go but up after Tiger Woods’ disastrous start to his first round of 2015. Despite persistent shakiness with his short game and wildness off the tee, Woods did find a bit of form on the easier back nine to post an opening round 73 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

It could not have started any worse for Woods, who opened his year by airmailing a 3-wood nearly off the course on the first hole. The balls off the tee, hit mostly with driver, often went wild to the right, but it’s the short game and his chipping that remains the most alarming deficiency right now. It was apparent early in his round that last month’s Hero World Challenge, where he chunked no less than nine chip shots in the most ghastly fashion, was not an isolated event. Tiger duffed a pitch shot on the third hole in much the same way he did at the World Challenge.

It was not that shot that was most alarming, but rather the club selection from around the greens that was really startling. It began at the 1st hole, when Woods chose a 7-iron to try and run a low chip shot up onto the green. It did not go well, and he left it 10 feet short to start the season with a bogey. Throughout the front nine as he continued to miss greens in regulation, he’d repeatedly pull either mid-iron or a putter to try and run it up on the green.

It was astounding to see from a player who almost always used to go for wedge in similar situations and expect to put it right in the cup. These were the kinds of plays you’d see from a high handicapper just trying to get it on the green. It was clear he has no confidence in his ability to chip onto the green -- one of the simpler aspects of the game at the professional level. On top of the chunks last month at the World Challenge and at the start of this round, Tiger also introduced blading the ball straight through the damn green. This should have been a basic up-and-over shot.

That shot would lead to a bogey on the ninth to round out his miserable start to the year. All facets of his game looked poor. It resulted in an outward 4-over 39, and at one point only three players in the field of 132 had worse scores than the 14-time major winner.

The round did get back on track on his second nine. That’s the easier scoring nine at TPC Scottsdale, and Woods did find some spots to ensure the day was not a complete disaster. He bombed a driver down the left side of the fairway at the 13th hole, getting his clubhead speed to a point it hadn’t been in several years. From that spot, he ripped a 4-iron up the shoot, running his ball to tap-in distance for an easy eagle. It was a beautiful sequence and the first positive stretch for him, which helped whip up the crowd in Phoenix.

After backing off his ball a couple times, Tiger made a par-saving putt at the 16th, the loudest, rowdiest hole in golf. He’d sprint out of that coliseum and finish birdie-par to get back to 2-over for the tournament. The drive on 17th, a reachable par-4, was his best of the day. It rolled 341 yards right up onto the green and pin-high, but he missed the eagle putt and settled for a birdie. This is not a terribly difficult course, so 2-over is good enough to put him in T106 at the end of his round (via PGATour.com).

All is not lost for Woods. This is just his first event of the year, and that back nine was encouraging at times. But those short game troubles appear to be a chipping yips issue he’s going to have to deal with and get rid of in order to be competitive.