Tiger Woods shoots 64 in R1 of Wyndham Championship; Arjun Atwal makes 67

Report by Anand Datla

August 20, 2015: Just a week ago, Tiger Woods looked like a man lost in the crowd with a disturbing look of confusion writ all around him. Having missed the cut for a third straight major, Woods decided to take his chances by entering the Wyndham Championship. It is a decision that seems to have paid off, at least going by his effort in the first round. Woods shot an elegant 64 on Thursday, just two off the pace set by William McGirt and Eric Compton, who were leading at 8-under 62.

With a spot on the FedexCup Playoffs on the line, Tiger needs to win or finish in solo second this week to have any chance of qualifying for the season ending tournament. Woods did not make the list of top 125 golfers last year too.

But starting off with a chipped birdie at the first hole, Woods played with a confidence that hasn’t been seen in recent times. He went on to add two birdies in quick succession at the 4th and 5th holes – from 11 and 7 feet respectively. Woods needed just 32 shots for his first nine holes.

At the tenth, Woods misdirected his tee shot to the left rough and despite staying in the rough after his second shot, buried a brilliant birdie, chipping in from over 54 feet to add momentum to his round. He suffered a temporary set back at the eleventh hole -taking a bogey five.

But that did not deter the golfer, who sank three more birdies on his way to the clubhouse – at the 13th, 15th and 18th holes to sign off in tremendous style.

Martin Kaymer took just 31 shots to get past the return stretch in a matching 64 that contained seven birdies and a lone bogey, the same as Tiger.

Japanese golfer, Hideki Matsuyama was spotless all day, shooting 65 with five birdies in his first round outing. Arjun Atwal also had a good day at Greensboro, shooting a 67, including three birdies. Just as Matsuyama, Atwal went bogey free in his march around the Sedgefield Country Club.

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