SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — On the eve of the 118th United States Open, Tiger Woods was hitting bunker shots in the short-game practice area when Rory McIlroy entered his peripheral vision. Woods stopped and wished McIlroy well. Then he extended his hand for McIlroy to shake, and mischievously pulled him into the bunker.
When the Open’s first round began on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Woods had to grind to avoid being yanked into the same abyss that swallowed McIlroy, who posted a 10-over 80 in the morning.
Teeing off several minutes after McIlroy signed his scorecard, Woods played the first nine in three over, no small feat given that he had tripled the opening hole after finding the fairway with his tee shot.