From driving range to 18th green with Tiger Woods at Aronimink

A MINUTE before noon, there were more fans on the driving range than would be in most fairways by late afternoon. Very few of them were actually looking at the range. They were staring up toward the clubhouse, waiting for Tiger, about an hour before his opening-round tee time at Aronimink in the AT&T National.

Dustin Johnson had just walked through the parking lot before Woods emerged at noon. Woods got a lift in a cart.

Nearly 6 hours and exactly 73 shots later, Woods had to be wondering what he did to the golfing gods. He hit maybe four bad shots all day and paid serious penalties every time. He could hardly make a putt.

It was not the opening act many had envisioned for his first official round in the Philadelphia region, but it was still some show.

Very little is left to chance with Woods. His 30-minute routine on the range seemed perfectly choreographed - short irons, long irons, fairway wood, driver, in that order. Once he felt comfortable, he was on to the next club.

He never topped any shots. Clearly, he is not familiar with my game.

The practice putting green looked like a mini-racetrack shortly after dawn - lots of traffic, balls going every which way. Somehow, Tiger and the others always knew which ones were theirs. I felt like I was watching a game of three-ball monte.

Tiger's round begins

 

Tiger's tee time was 12:56. He was paired with Dustin Johnson and Davis Love III. Johnson seemed to have the U.S. Open won 2 weeks ago. And then he didn't. Love won the 1997 PGA at Winged Foot. He is on the precipice of the Hall of Fame. It was a formidable trio. At least, it looked that way before they started hitting balls.

As the trophy with the Liberty Bell sat off to the side of the first tee, a crowd 20 deep up to the clubhouse behind it and fans lined up fairway to green, Woods crushed his drive down the middle and then hit a perfect iron a few feet from the hole.

"You are back," a man screamed after the iron shot.

He knew - after two shots.

Turned out he was a bit premature, even though Tiger's short birdie putt was perfect.

I can't compare walking a golf course with Tiger Woods to anything I have done. I know exactly what he's done because I have followed so closely on television since I saw him win the first of his three U.S. Amateurs at Sawgrass in 1994. To see it in person is a completely different experience.