Back OK but game is hurting

Woods shoots 74 in return to tour

Tiger Woods lines up his putt on the sixth green during the first round of the Quicken Loans National on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Woods finished with a 4-over-par 74 in his first tournament since having back surgery.
Tiger Woods lines up his putt on the sixth green during the first round of the Quicken Loans National on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Woods finished with a 4-over-par 74 in his first tournament since having back surgery.

BETHESDA, Md. -- Tiger Woods was back on the PGA Tour for the first time in more than three months Thursday and said he felt fantastic.

He was talking about his back, not his game.

One day into his most recent return from injury, that's what mattered to him.

Woods opened with two consecutive bogeys, made five more in a seven-hole stretch around the turn at Congressional and finally found his groove late in the opening round of the Quicken Loans National for a 3-over 74.

Woods was tied for 83rd -- only 19 players had a higher score -- and he will have to score better today if he wants to avoid missing the cut for the first time in two years.

"I made so many little mistakes," Woods said. "I played a lot better than the score indicated."

Congressional had a lot to do with that. Any shot just off the fairway was buried, making it difficult for even the powerful players to reach the green on some of the longer par 4s.

Greg Chalmers finished with three consecutive birdies for a 66 and a one-shot lead over Ricky Barnes and Freddie Jacobson. Defending champion Bill Haas, Patrick Reed, U.S. Open runner-up Erik Compton and Tyrone Van Aswegen shot 68. Compton birdied his last four holes.

"I didn't think it was easy at all," Chalmers said. "I played really well, and I think anybody who plays really well can shoot a low score. You just have to be coming out of the fairway, and I didn't do that the majority of the time today."

Only 26 players in the 120-man field broke par, but this day was all about Woods.

He has been golf's biggest draw since he turned pro in 1996 and accumulated 79 victories on the PGA Tour and 14 majors. He won the past two times he played Congressional, in 2009 and 2012.

Even with an early start, the gallery lined the entire left side of the 218-yard 10th hole, with hundreds of others watching from the patio and veranda of the famed Congressional clubhouse.

Two holes into Woods' opening round, they had reason to wonder why they had waited three months for this, but it wasn't just Woods.

He played with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth, and that trio of top-10 players combined for six bogeys in two holes. All three of them were in the fairway on the same hole one time the entire round -- on No. 11, the hardest at Congressional, and only because Day's tee shot ricocheted off a tree.

Day had a 73, while Spieth shot 74.

Woods last played at Doral on March 9, when he closed with a 78 while coping with pain in his lower back. He had microdiscectomy surgery March 31, which caused him to miss the Masters and U.S. Open.

Bryce Molder (Conway) had 2 birdies, 6 bogeys and 1 double bogey for a 6-over 77. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had one birdie and nine bogeys for an 8-over 79 and was in last place.

WEB.COM

Kang alone at top

NEWBURGH, Ind. -- Sun Kang had 1 eagle, 6 birdies and 2 bogeys for a 6-under 66 to lead the first round of the United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club.

Ryan Blaum, Zack Fischer and Roberto Diaz each shot a 5-under 67 and were tied for second.

Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) had four birdies and three bogeys for a 1-under 71. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) had three birdies and four bogeys for a 1-over 73.

Glen Day (Little Rock) had 1 birdie, 1 bogey and 1 triple bogey for a 3-over 75. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had four birdies and three bogeys through 14 holes.

EUROPEAN PGA

Willett, Cabrera-Bello lead

COLOGNE, Germany -- Danny Willett and Rafa Cabrera-Bello shot 8-under 64s for the lead while local favorite Martin Kaymer endured a frustrating round on the opening day of the BMW International Open.

Willett finished with his eighth birdie to match his Spanish playing partner's bogey-free round.

Kaymer, making his first competitive appearance since winning the U.S. Open, made five birdies but was let down by two bogeys and a double bogey in a 1-under 71.

There was a seven-way tie for third, with Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, Spain's Alvaro Quiros and Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey joining early leaders Anders Hansen of Denmark, Gary Stahl of France and Englishmen Andy Sullivan and Graham Storm on 6-under 66.

Ireland's Shane Lowry, France's Romain Wattel and Spaniards Nacho Elvira and Jorge Campillo were in a group at 5 under.

Irish Open winner Mikko Ilonen finished 4 under, while playing partner and 11-time European Tour winner Sergio Garcia was 1 under.

World No. 2 Henrik Stenson managed an eagle on the 13th hole and finished 4 under with another two birdies.

John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) had four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 70.

CHAMPIONS

Three lead with 64s

PITTSBURGH -- Joe Durant, David Frost and Doug Garwood sprinted to the early lead at the Senior Players Championship, shooting 6-under 64 at defenseless Fox Chapel.

Still drying out after days of steady rain, the par-70 layout in suburban Pittsburgh offered little resistance. Frost and Garwood breezed through their rounds without making a bogey, and Durant offset his lone bogey with seven birdies.

Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin, Larry Mize, Steve Pate, Olin Browne, Bart Bryant, Peter Fowler and Wes Short Jr. shot 65. Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA winner last month, opened with a 5-under 30 on the front nine before fading to a 69.

Defending champion Kenny Perry, looking for his fourth major title in the last year, had a 70. He won the Tradition last month.

Sports on 06/27/2014

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