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Tiger on the prowl, nears top of leaderboard at Quicken Loans

July 31, 2015

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the Quicken Loans National golf tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., Thursday, July 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

By Brian Han

Tiger Woods put on a vintage performance on Friday at the Quicken Loans National in Gainesvill, Va. with a 5-under 66 that put him at an 8-under total near the top of the leaderboard.

Despite the fact that he’ll be turning 40 in December, the PGA Tour veteran showed no signs of aging during the round as he averaged a whopping 314 yards off the tee while the field average sat at 289 yards.

Similar to Thursday’s round, things turned slightly sour before he began to rattle off a series of birdies. Woods bogeyed the par-5 15th, his fourth hole of the day, after he severely mishit his tee shot, which failed to even reach the fairway.

Despite the mental lapse, Woods recovered immediately afterwards on the next hole with a well-placed 330-yard drive and an approach shot that ended up a foot from the hole. What followed were six birdies in his final 13 holes without a single blemish.

His putter came alive on his 17th hole when he drained a difficult 36-foot putt that broke hard to the right before reaching the center of the cup.

He pumped his fist, but didn’t break a smile while the rest of the gallery roared behind him.

South Korean Whee Kim also made a big move by matching Woods’ performance with a 5-under 66, which also puts him at an 8-under total.

Kim’s approach shots were dialed in as he hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation. It was evident early on when he hit his tee shot within tap-in range on the par-3 11th, his second hole of the day.