Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitatio (AFP)
Tiger Woods had no cause to complain about his putting after climbing within three stokes of first round leader Jason Gore at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday.
Woods took just 24 putts in a two-under-par 68 that left him poised to challenge for a sixth victory at Bay Hill.
"The first two tournaments (of the year) I was hitting it so well," he said. "Today I was not hitting it well, and I had to scramble and grind it out and manage to score.
"I had to manage my game today. I missed the ball on the correct sides (of the greens), so I had easy pitches."
Woods is playing just his third tournament since undergoing major knee surgery last June.
He had to overcame a poor start, a double-bogey at the par-five sixth, where he pulled his drive into the lake left of the fairway.
He also hit a poor drive at the par-four eighth, but found a gap between the trees and salvaged par, before also escaping with a par at No.9, where he sank a 13-footer.
Buoyed by those reprieves, he ran off four consecutive birdies from No.10 as his putter caught fire.
Meanwhile, Gore went about his business in relative anonymity, capping off a stellar day with a four-foot birdie at his final hole for a five-under 65, earning a one-stroke lead over fellow Americans Tim Herron and Jeff Overton.
Gore, without a top-40 finish in seven starts this year, finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel.
"It's the first time in a long time I didn't suck," he said. "I've been doing a lot of work and I've got a new coach.
"We made a huge swing change, and it's finally starting to get comfortable, and I think it's going to be a really good thing in the long run."
Gore, who was 11 when he first met Palmer at "The King's" home course in Pennsylvania, was thrilled to lead Arnie's tournament.
"I remember he took a picture with us, signed a scorecard and said ?son, I'm going to hit balls, would you like to come watch?'
"I sat on the little slope right behind the first tee and watched Mr. Palmer hit balls for about 45 minutes, and from that point on I knew I wanted to be a professional golfer."
Meanwhile, it was a miserable day for 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa.
Followed every step of the way by about 50 Japanese journalists and photographers, he shot 76 after running up a quadruple bogey at the par-five sixth, where he put two balls into the water and one into rocks guarding the green.
© 2009 AFP/sid
