Hero World Challenge: Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed lead as Tiger Woods slips
Presidents Cup team-mates fire 66s in the Bahamas as Woods slips to level par after dropping three shots over the final two holes
Wednesday 4 December 2019 21:33, UK
Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed ended a blustery first day of the Hero World Challenge tied for the lead as Tiger Woods started and finished poorly at Albany.
Woodland and Reed coped admirably with the conditions to fire 66s which earned them a two-shot lead over late entrant Chez Reavie, while Woods ruined an excellent back nine with a bogey, double-bogey finish in an opening 72.
US Open champion Woodland, who finished tied for eighth place in the 18-man field last year, was the first to get into the clubhouse on six under after making eight birdies, including two runs of three in a row, against two bogeys.
He was later joined by Presidents Cup team-mate Reed, who hit back from his only blemish of the day at the 12th with four consecutive birdies before a classy up-and-down at the short 17th kept him in a share of the lead.
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Reavie was added to the field last week after Dustin Johnson decided he needed an extra few days to recover from knee surgery, and Reavie returned an entertaining 68 featuring four birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey seven at the ninth.
Local resident Justin Rose also handed in a colourful card, with seven birdies and four bogeys adding up to a 68 which was matched by Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson.
Rose was one over at the turn following back-to-back bogeys at eight and nine and, after a par at the 10th, he birdied five of the next six holes around his fourth dropped shot of the round at the 12th as he closed within three of the leaders.
Jon Rahm was also at three under until his second bogey of the round at the last, while Kevin Kisner and Matt Kuchar were the only other players to end the first day under the card.
Tournament-host Woods looked out of sorts on the outward half, twice making bogey sixes at par-fives as he turned in 38, but the reigning Masters champion got back on track with three birdies in four holes from the 11th before chipping in for eagle at the 15th to race to three under.
But the US Presidents Cup captain then bogeyed the penultimate hole and a blocked drive at the last left him unable to hit the green in two, and he compounded the error by three-putting for a double-bogey six which dropped him six shots off the pace.
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