Follow Tiger Woods hole by hole at the PGA Championship

The year’s final major tees off Thursday morning, and against all odds, Tiger Woods is back in the mix as a competitive golfer. But TV coverage doesn’t begin until early afternoon, and you might be stuck at work anyway. Fear not; we’ll update you hole by hole right here. Woods tees off at 9:23 a.m. Eastern alongside a couple journeymen named Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. Let’s go! (And for those of you who don’t want to hear more about Tiger, we have plenty of coverage of the other 155 players in the tournament. Just not in this particular article.)

Woods tees off at the 10th hole Thursday, and it’s there that we begin.

Hole 10

Par 4, 508 yards: If you’re looking for omens, this isn’t a good one: Woods is 175th on Tour in driving accuracy, and his first tee shot goes wide into the thick rough to the right of the fairway. After a punch-out, Woods has to get up-and-down from about 150 yards out. His approach finds the front of the green, and he leaves a long uphill par putt well short. He drains a long 10-foot bogey putt, and begins the day on the high side of par. CURRENT SCORE: +1, Tied for 29th place.

Hole 11

Par 4, 355 yards: Woods hits a stinger off the tee of the birdie-able 11th, and again misses the fairway, though by a much shorter distance this hole. But his approach bounces into the pond in front of the green, and this round is already pinwheeling. He doubles the hole, and, well, this isn’t a great start. CURRENT SCORE: +3, T-54.

Hole 12

Par 4, 452 yards: Off the tee, Woods at last finds the fairway. He changes shirts to change his luck, and it works: his approach is a tap-in birdie. Easy enough. CURRENT SCORE: +2, T-52.

Hole 13

Par 3, 180 yards: Off the tee, Woods lands it within 15 feet of the flag. His putt over a short ridge doesn’t quite fall, and he taps in for his first par of the day. CURRENT SCORE: +2, T-55.

Hole 14

Par 4, 410 yards: Another fairway, and Woods might be finding his groove. His approach leaves him a very long uphill birdie attempt, which he’s unable to sink. Another par. CURRENT SCORE: +2, T61.

Hole 15

Par 4, 495 yards: Another miss. Woods runs the tee shot into the long grass down a hillside beside the fairway. He tries to drive the green and only ends up back in the woods. His approach barely clears the bunker and leaves him a good shot at a par. He drains the par putt, an impressive feat given two shots out of the timber. CURRENT SCORE: +2, T56.

Hole 16

Par 3, 237 yards: Yet another terrible tee shot. Woods flies the green and nearly snugs it up against the grandstand, and swipes his club in disgust. He has to drop, and he can’t get up and down. Another bogey. CURRENT SCORE: +3, T68.

Hole 17

Par 5, 597 yards: Repeat it with us: trouble off the tee. Woods finds a fairway bunker off the tee. After firing out, his approach finds another bunker. Woods has had better days. He knocks down a five-footer for par to stay at three-over. CURRENT SCORE: +3, T64.

Hole 18

Par 4, 457 yards: A pretty much perfect hole. A strong fairway drive, a perfect on-line approach, and a short birdie putt drops Woods to two-over at the turn. CURRENT SCORE: +2, T54.

Hole 1

Par 4, 425 yards. Another fine tee shot and another sharp approach; Woods seems to be finding a groove. He drains another birdie, and he’s heading back toward even par. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T37.

Hole 2

Par 4, 410 yards. And yet another strong stroke off the tee, leading to a solid approach. Woods stays smart with the birdie putt and closes out with a par. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T37.

Hole 3

Par 3, 148 yards. A pin-high tee shot for 20 feet, and then the birdie putt juuuuuust misses. He’s in for another par, but he’s also staying in the groove. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T37.

Hole 4

Par 4, 521 yards. A textbook sort of hole; driver off the tee and a decent enough approach to set him up for an up-and-down for par. Woods rolls in a six-footer for par, and he continues to stay steady. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T37.

Hole 5

Par 4, 471 yards. A simply brilliant hole; Woods’ best drive of the day followed by an approach that gives him a fine, 10-foot shot at a birdie. Unfortunately for Woods, the birdie attempt slides right past the hole, and he knocks in the short comebacker. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T36.

Hole 6

Par 3, 213 yards. The final par 3 of the round for Woods and crew. Woods manages a fine up-and-down on a narrow, water-edged green, and remains steady. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T35.

Hole 7

Par 4, 394 yards. After yet another strong drive, Woods comes up 30 feet short on approach. He drains the par putt, but a little more of a charge could’ve resulted in a birdie. CURRENT SCORE: +1, T34.

Hole 8

Par 5, 597 yards. The easiest hole on the course this afternoon, and a good chance for Woods to get back to even on the day … which, after his start, would be something of a miracle. Still, after a booming drive, Woods tries to reach the green … and ends up in a bunker on his second shot. His sand save rolls about 10 feet past the pin. He drains the birdie putt, his fourth birdie of the day and his third attempt at getting even, to drop to even par. CURRENT SCORE: E, T28.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

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