The standards have changed for Tiger Woods. How could it have been otherwise, after all he's been through? He already considers this season, his first in years which has not been interrupted by injury, a success. In his prime, Tiger Woods would never have been content with a year without a win. But after four back surgeries, there was a lot to celebrate in 2018.

Photo: DR

He started the year not knowing how long he would be able to play. Not only was his back holding, but he quickly proved he was capable of a fight. And he qualified for his first TOUR championship in five years. A win is the obvious next step in his comeback.

He gave himself another shot at his 80th win after signing a 65 card at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday. He shares the lead in the first round with Rickie Fowler.

"It would only strengthen the year", Tiger Woods, the only two-time FedExCup champion, said of a win. “I was just hoping to be able to start golfing again and come back to that level which is something I was hoping to do at the start of the year, but I didn't know it. And I did. "

He completed Thursday's round with an 18-inch eagle reminiscent of old times. After hitting a 275-meter tee on the par-5 descent, Tiger Woods extricated himself from a complicated situation with his wood-5 to slowly come onto the green. He then made an 8,5-meter putt for the eagle.

" It was good "he said smiling.

Dustin Johnson was the only other player to score on Thursday.

This is the second tournament in a row where Tiger Woods shared the lead in the first round. It opened with a 62 two weeks ago at the BMW Championship at the Aronimink Golf Club. Woods said Thursday's round, although it was three strokes higher, was "much better" due to the demanding setup of East Lake and its greens. Thursday he controlled his game from the tee to the green. His only problem was a “wood-3” off the 17th tee. He only missed four fairways and four greens.

"Conditions were tense", Woods said of the Aronimink Golf Club. “It's hard to get the ball closer (at East Lake). If you drag the ball into the rough, you know you can't get the ball closer. Bermuda rough, you can't control it. He favors driving and gives greater importance to the pursuit of some of these greens. I played in a rather resonable way ”

It was his only bug of the day. He birdied back-to-back at holes 5 and 6, putts from 8 and 4,5 yards, to finish the round at (-1) 34. He added birdies at 12 and 14 before his eagle at the final hole. On the 14th, he hit his 190-yard approach to find himself 2,5 yards from the flag.

Tiger Woods finished tied for 6th in the BMW Championship. He was hampered by his second round of 70, then by 66 and 65 in the last two laps. He found himself 1 stroke behind the leader on the last lap before finishing three strokes behind the winner Keegan Bradley.

Woods got the ball well at the BMW Championship and continued that trend on Thursday. He finished 12th in the precision competition at Aronimink with a driving precision of 275 meters from the tee. Only two players, Paul Casey and Justin Rose, touched more fairways than Woods on Thursday. He has improved as a driver since he increased his loft and changed shafts in the first round of the Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST.

"I was tired of not being able to reverse the situation"Woods said Thursday. “My swing was pretty one-dimensional, or if I hit a straight ball, it wasn't enough. I had to do a different swing with a driver or a wood-3 or a wood-5 or an iron-2, and I didn't want to do that anymore. "

With the groups reassembled at the end of each round of the Tour Championship, Woods and Fowler will play in the final group on Friday. They were also paired in the first two rounds at Aronimink, where Fowler shot 65-65 on his first start since an oblique injury.

"In my eyes, looking at this, the biggest victory for him is to stay healthy and stay here all year round"said Fowler.

Another victory would be incredible in this last event of the season,
Tiger Woods has yet another opportunity to make history again ...