Woods leads with 67, says could go even lower

CHASKA, Minnesota, (Reuters) – Tiger Woods fired a  five-under-par 67 to set the early pace at the U.S. PGA  Championship yesterday and further demoralised his rivals by  saying he just scratched the surface of his scoring potential.
“I played really well today,” Woods told reporters after  ending the first round a stroke in front of his playing partner  Padraig Harrington of Ireland, the defending champion.

“I hit just a bunch of good shots. And this round could  have been really low. I missed a bunch of putts out there.”
Woods may have been disappointed by squandered  opportunities on the greens but he helped himself to five  birdies in his bogey-free round.

He rolled in a 20-footer to birdie the 12th, his third hole  of the day, dropped in another 20-footer for birdie at the  second and sank a 30-foot birdie putt at the next on his way  around the monster Hazeltine National layout.

“Today I was very consistent. I hit my irons well,” he  said. “And as I said, I hit a lot of good putts that were  skirting the edge and lipping out.”

The 33-year-old American found 12 of 14 fairways and hit 15  of 18 greens in regulation on the 7,674-yard Hazeltine layout  that is the longest to host a major championship.

Hungering for his first major win since last year’s U.S.  Open after being sidelined for eight months following knee  surgery, Woods is playing in his third tournament in as many  weeks.

The world number one usually likes a more relaxed run-up to  a major but stepped up his pace after missing the cut at last  month’s British Open. Two weeks ago, he won the Buick Classic  before clinching the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.

“I had that nice little rest there after the British Open,  those two days, that’s what got me,” Woods joked about missing  the weekend rounds at Turnberry. “I have plenty of energy.” Asked what he had been doing last year at this time, he  replied: “I was just now starting to try and walk without a  brace.

“I wasn’t very good at it, just trying to get a little bit  of flexibility at the time. Walking in a pool and all those  different things. But I couldn’t do much of anything.”

Woods, who tied for sixth this year at the U.S. Masters and  U.S. Open, is seeking his 15th major and a record-equalling  fifth PGA crown that would tie him with Jack Nicklaus and  Walter Hagen.

“I feel pretty comfortable if I’m playing well. No doubt,”  he said about his confidence level. “There are times I’ve put  it together and I’ve had some pretty good margins of victory.

“When I’m playing well, I usually don’t make that many  mistakes.”
Among his major triumphs, Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open by  15 shots, the 1997 Masters by 12 and the 2000 British Open by  eight.

“It’s always nice to get off quick,” he said. “You can play  yourself out of a golf tournament in the first round but you  certainly cannot win the golf tournament on the first day.”