Tiger Woods plays through heckling, loud boos at Phoenix Open’s 16th hole
Tiger Woods may have fond memories of the hole-in-one he made on the par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale in 1997, but we doubt he’ll recall Thursday’s hard-earned par amid cheers and jeers with much affection.
Tiger Woods, for the second straight day, elicited boos on the rowdiest hole in golf, but the catcalls aimed at the Phoenix Open’s marquee attraction on TPC Scottsdale’s infamous par-3 16th in the first round of the Phoenix Open threw the big cat off his rhythm.
Tiger booed at a golf tournament. These are strange times, indeed.
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) January 29, 2015 What there was of it.
By the time Woods, in his first trip to the PGA Tour’s outdoor cocktail party since 2001, emerged from the tunnel at the signature hole on Thursday, he was 3-over and frustrated with his wayward drives, wretched chipping, and lackluster putting. The 15,000 well-lubed spectators hanging out of the grandstands ringing the lyric little bandbox in the desert -- including one guy clad in shades and a green bodysuit and another who poked fun at Tiger’s mysterious missing tooth -- had been waiting all day to greet the former world No. 1.
The 16th at TPC Scottsdale pic.twitter.com/UzcTTcslTn
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) January 29, 2015 While Woods responded to boos during Wednesday’s pro-am with smiles and what seemed at the time may have been a purposefully skulled shot out of a green-side bunker at the stands, Thursday he was not entirely amused by the fracas at the frat house.
Has to back off ball 2x because of unruly fans then pulls trigger. And u wonder why Tiger doesn't play Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/uehh7D8F7c
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) January 29, 2015 His new Nike RZN Black ball fortunately landed on the green, though some 30 feet from the pin, but not before the clamor and tumult forced him to back off his tee shot twice.
Oooh, Tiger on 16. First attempt he tries to pull club back, someone yells, "knock it in the tooth!"-causes him to back off. Does it again.
— Stephanie Wei (@StephanieWei) January 29, 2015 Here’s video of the unruly fan shouting about dental matters:
Playing partners Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed each made birdie, but Woods’ tentative birdie putt came up short. A testy par putt dropped and Tiger was finally able to exhale as he walked off the green.
Nobody can have less fun than Tiger Woods in the most fun place in golf.
— Scott Michaux (@ScottMichaux) January 29, 2015 Tiger with a big exhale after that putt. A maybe, just maybe, a little smile.
— Trevor Reaske (@TrevorReaske) January 29, 2015 A fun time was definitely not had by all and Woods, who played in front of a record 118,461 spectators in the opening round (beating last year’s mark by 30,000), may have to grin and bear it just one more time if he brings his right-leaning misses off the tee and yips-fueled short game back to the course on Friday. An eagle-3 on the 13th and a birdie on the second-to-last after he pumped a tee shot hole-high on the 341-yard par-4 was encouraging.
And now Tiger drives reachable 17th ... Go figure.
— Brian Wacker (@pgatour_brianw) January 29, 2015 It may not be enough to get him to the weekend, though, after a front-9 4-over 39.
Tiger Woods: 39 on front side, worst 9-hole score to open season as a pro.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) January 29, 2015 Ending the day at 2-over 73, and with play suspended due to darkness, the 47th-ranked player in the world was tied for 104th -- nine shots back of 18-hole leader Ryan Palmer.
“I didn’t get into the mental rhythm of the round for a while,” Woods told reporters afterward. “But then I started finding the rhythm of the round, the rhythm of competing and playing, chipping shots and hitting them to the safety zones or being aggressive, taking on certain shots, getting a feel for that. It takes time.
“Mentally, I’m a little bit tired from the grind of trying to piece together a round,” said Woods. “I was 5-over par and I fought back to get myself a decent look going into the weekend. I’m proud of that.”
Woods gets to do it all again starting on the 10th hole at 7:57 a.m. local time on Friday. Perhaps the early hour and expected raw, damp weather will temper some of the revelers on No. 16, but we wouldn’t bet on it.
