Round 1 of the Quicken Loans National (QLN) went off with some fireworks; the threat of severe thunderstorms, two aces, and Tiger Woods shooting just his second round under 70 this season highlighted Thursday’s round that left Retief Goosen and Ryo Ishikawa tied at 8-under par atop the leaderboard. If the tournament continues down this route, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club may be wondering how to start challenging PGA professional’s if ever given the chance to host the event again.
It would appear that after round one that the field, as invited by host Tiger Woods, was going to simply pick a part this roughly 7,200 yard layout and continue to go low. How low can this field go should be the ultimate question heading into today’s second round? The conclusion of round one saw 96 players at even-par or better – one would expect that this week’s cut will hover around 2-under par, forcing notable players such as Stewart Cink, Gary Woodland, and newcomer Tony Finau to pick up the birdie pace.
Aside from the majority of the field “going low” on day one, the most notable story of the round has to be Tiger Woods; come on, let’s be serious, if Tiger was 9-over par he would still be the story; it’s growing increasingly difficult to avoid the 1,000-lb elephant in the room, being Tiger’s lack of quality performances in 2014 and 2015. After round one, Tiger sits at T27 and 3-under par; in his post round interview, confidence and the “fun” factor seemed to be emanating from Tiger’s smile. Seemingly with more pep in his step, Tiger was able to overcome some of the biomechanical swing issues he has faced in recent weeks and score.
In his pre-tournament interview Tiger stated “I am no longer having fun out there.” It seemed apparent that after sinking four birdies in a row to start his back 9, something that Tiger has not done since 2013 when he won the Bridgestone Invitational, that Woods is finally having some fun. The string of 4-birdies have left many analysts questioning if this could be the week in which we see Tiger on the top of the leaderboard after four rounds – but wouldn’t making the cut be a milestone at this point?
For Woods, 2015 has been riddled with self-identified failures, missed cuts, and yet another swing change. Over the last few years, Tiger has publicly admitted to now four swing changes – the most recent coming with new swing coach and biomechanics mentor, Chris Como. Como, who was introduced to Tiger by Stanford teammate Notah Begay, is suspiciously not with Tiger at the Quicken Loans National, leading some to believe that the relationship between Como and Woods may be suffering. Could it be time for Tiger to move on from Como and possibly reconcile with Butch Harmon?
Notah Begay who had lunch with Como in Texas earlier this week has said that there is no reason to believe that Como and Woods will be parting ways. In fact, he has stated that he believes Como will be making his way to Virginia to work with his star-pupil on Friday for the 2nd round and the weekend. But what are we to think if Como does not show his face on Friday, is Tiger on the prowl for a new swing coach?
Once aspect of Tiger’s game that has suffered in the last five years is between his ears – Tiger’s mental game has been extremely weak. Tiger’s mental resilience was described as unflappable and steadfast for years while under the tutelage of Butch Harmon and his father, Earl Woods. Since the passing of this father, and the fallout with Harmon, Tiger has been on the search for a new coach that serves a dual purpose, an improvement of his swing and golf game, and mental coaching to ensure Tiger keeps his stripes. Since working with Como, the mental aspect of Tiger’s game has yet to see a resurgence; if Como and Tiger do part ways, who could step in and bring Tiger’s game back to a level we are used to seeing?
Regardless of the speculation surrounding Tiger, the QLN has already shown flares of the dramatic with storylines poised to keep us talking. Can Rickie Fowler solve the rollercoaster ride of his 2015 and win for the second time in four weeks? Will Patrick Rodgers, Justin Thomas or Ollie Schniederjans who are all in the top 10 finish atop the leaderboard for their first PGA win? Or maybe we will all be treated defending champion Justin Rose winning in back to back years – either way, if round one is any indication as to how the rest of the weekend will go, we are in for some good and exciting golf. With only two weeks until the last major of the year (PGA Championship) and four weeks until the FedEx Cup Playoffs start, prepare yourself for a whirlwind of golf over the next month. Enjoy it, cheers!