Tiger Woods: Examining His Playing History at Bethpage Black

2012 Barclays

Tiger entered the 2012 Barclay’s a different golfer than anytime he had played Bethpage Black professionally in the past. By no means old, Tiger Woods at 36 was still dealing with a length injury list, amidst other off-course issues.

The first round started off well for Tiger. He shot a 68, good enough to place him T14 and four shots off the lead. A great start for him, as it helped him ease into the week, and put him in a good position to continue to climb the leaderboard as the week went on.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Claiming that he woke up with a sore back, he then started showing issues with his knee after an approach shot on the 5th hole.

He managed a 69 that day, to sit at -5 heading into the weekend. The injuries would take their toll on him. A one-over 72 would drop him back after Saturday, and then a 76 knocked him down the leaderboard. In fact, it knocked him above par for the week, and he finished the tournament at one-over.

The first round is the one i look to here for signs of how Tiger Woods would really play the course. A three-under 68, putting himself in a good position for the rest of the week. I don’t ever want to factor in injuries to any golfer, especially Tiger at this point in his career. I would say that the first round is the only one that should truly be used when looking at his career performance at Bethpage Black.