Putting woes stymie Tiger Woods from going low at Wells Fargo

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quail Hollow’s practice putting green is only 200 yards from the area adjacent to the clubhouse where players meet with the media. The setup was especially convenient for Tiger Woods after a first-round 71 that was defined by poor putting. He needed 31 putts in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods headed directly to the practice green after finishing his post-round interview around 6:30 p.m. He started stroking 5-foot putts between two tees that guided his putter down the proper path. Woods said he had trouble judging the speed of greens whose firmness belied their slow speed. He missed four putts inside 8 feet, including 4-footers on Nos. 14 and 16. He three-putted the 16th hole from just 15 feet after running his birdie putt by the hole. He had to hole a 17-footer for par on the par-3 17th hole after leaving his first putt well short and missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th green after a strong approach from a fairway bunker. “(The greens) feel springy and they feel fast, especially as I’m walking on them, but they’re not putting that way,� Woods said. “What I was feeling and sensing just didn’t match up.� Woods lost 1.27 strokes on the greens Thursday, ranking 120th in the 156-man field in strokes gained: putting. He started the week ranked eighth (+0.74) in that statistic. Woods won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2007, and finished no worse than 11th in his first four appearances here, but this is his first time at Quail Hollow since 2012. The greens were bentgrass when Woods won but have since been changed to Bermudagrass. He ranked 17th in strokes gained: off-the-tee on Thursday after hitting 13 greens. “Ball-striking-wise, I’m fine,� Woods said. “If I make a couple putts, I’d be 2 or 3 under par, which is fine.� Besides the short putts he missed at 14 and 16, Woods also made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the par-5 10th hole. He won’t have to wait long to try to make amends for those mistakes. He is scheduled to tee off at 7:40 a.m. He’ll start the second round six shots behind leader John Peterson, who used back-to-back eagles to shoot 65.

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