It’s officially started. The second-in-a-row tournament out of three that Tiger Woods will start. He’s yet to tee-off, but if he expects to win this one as he just took home the Buick Open, he’s going to have some work cut out for him. That’s right, Round 1 is in off to a great start and we’re looking directly into a two-way tie for the lead as we speak, with about twenty golfers still waiting to tee off.
Clark & Marksaeng Battle For Lead
Currently tied for the lead is one name you’ve most likely heard a great deal of on the PGA Tour, and one name you most likely never have, unless you are a serious golf fan. Tim Clark, the name you’ve all heard is sitting at -5 right now, tied for the lead, but he’s only recently just tied for it, as the relatively unheard of golfer, Prayad Marksaeng, has been at -6 today, but is settled in at -5 with two holes to play. Clark, on the other hand, still has 4 holes to go, so we could see some more shakeups before Tiger even steps onto the tee-box.
Phil Makes His Return
Overshadowing the battle between Clark and Marksaeng, however, and possibly even overshadowing the fact that we’re still waiting for Tiger to tee off, is the fact that Phil Mickelson is back. Yes, as mentioned last week, Phil decided to play in this tournament, giving hope to many fans that things with his wife and mother’s health might be taking a turn for the better. That said, things started off a bit slow for Phil and at one point he was +2, but he’s fought back to only +1 and still has 6 holes left to try to turn it around even further.
Month Off Affecting Swing?
It makes sense that things are a bit rusty for Phil, he’s been off for over a month and when interviewed, was quick to outline just how much he hasn’t hit the ball as of late:
“The first three or four weeks, I didn’t really play, but the last couple of weeks as things have gotten better, I’ve been able to practice a little bit…I won’t know exactly [where my game is at] until I play, but I’m optimistic.”
Plenty Of Golf Left…
Hopefully he can turn it around, he too will have a lot of work in store if he wants to make an honest run at the title. That said, Tiger came back from 8 down last weekend, Phil could too.
(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images AsiaPac)
