Woods not pleased with final-hole bogey 

Mar. 20, 2008

DORAL, Fla. -- He tells you he didn't do anything "all that special" on Thursday, yet Tiger Woods still finds himself two strokes off the lead after the first round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

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Tiger Woods reacts to a missed putt during the first round of the CA Championship.
Tiger Woods
Through 18 holes
STATS Rnd1 TOT RANK*
EAGLES -- 0 N/A
BIRDIES 7 7 T2
PARS 9 9 T68
BOGEYS 2 2 T32
DOUBLE BOGEYS -- 0 N/A
OTHER -- 0 N/A
DRIVING ACCURACY 50 50.0 T39
DRIVING DISTANCE 320.0 320.0 12
PUTTS PER ROUND 28 28.0 T35
PUTTS PER GIR 1.769 1.769 T47
GREENS IN REG 72 72.2 T13
SAND SAVES 50 50.0 T35

Woods' rather tepid assessment of his round of 67 was influenced in large part by a three-putt bogey on the 18th green. He was ticked, although he used a stronger description, and he made it very clear that without the bogey his outlook would have been different.

"You three putt 18, you're not going to be real happy," a stern-faced Woods said.

The gaffe was particularly frustrating for the game's No. 1 player and perfectionist because he had just bolted into contention with birdies on the 10th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes. Woods left himself a lengthy proposition at the Blue Monster's hardest hole, though, when his approach from the fairway bunker was hit slightly fat and stopped 72 feet from the pin.

"A three putt -- they don't feel good, especially when you have bad speed," said Woods, who missed a 6-footer for par at the 18th. "That first putt was bad speed."

Plenty of others found their mark, though, and Woods will start the second round tied with Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Anders Hansen and Nick O'Hern. Geoff Ogilvy and Miguel Angel Jimenez set the standard after shooting 65s on Thursday.

Even though he was visibly disappointed, Woods remains in the thick of things as he seeks a 65th win overall, sixth in a row on the PGA TOUR, seventh at the CA Championship, 16th at a World Golf Championships event and fourth straight at Doral's Blue Monster.

Woods prospered on the par-5s in Thursday' first round, playing them in 3 under -- two-putting the first and eighth, then hitting a brilliant bunker shot at the 10th to 11 inches for a third birdie. His other back nine birdies came from 7 feet at No. 14, 17 at the 15th and 4 at No. 17.

"I didn't really do anything all that special today,' Woods said. "I just kind of hung in there and took care of the par 5s and made a couple other birdies here and there. But all in all, just kind of ground it out.

"I made a couple mistakes out there, but overall I feel like I wasn't hitting the ball that poorly. I was hitting the ball in the right spots and just didn't make any putts until 15, 16. That was about the only putts I made all day."

Woods said he found it difficult to read some of the greens on Thursday. Don't expect that to be the case again, though. Woods may be the game's best at learning and adjusting on the fly.

"I found it hard to trust some of the greens here because it goes up hills," he said. "For instance, that one on 18, that grain actually goes up towards the bunker. It's kind of breaking towards that water, and it actually went left early in the putt.

"That's kind of the way it goes. I've got to trust what I see. I didn't do that enough times today, unfortunately."

Thursday's stroke average on the par-72 layout was 70.899. A total of 55 players in the elite field of 79 shot par or better, and Woods was hardly surprised.

"The pins were pretty accessible today," he said. "You get that with as far as the ball is going out there today. Guys are going to be hitting a lot of wedges if they drive the ball well, and you can take it low."

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