Tiger Woods will have to grind to make the cut, while Phil Mickelson will try to put on a show for the rowdy Friday afternoon crowd at TPC Scottsdale.
There are 132 players in the field at the Phoenix Open, but you wouldn't really know it if you watched the first round on Thursday. That's because all the oxygen and air time were sucked up by one player, Tiger Woods. The 14-time major winner made his 2015 debut at TPC Scottsdale, the rowdiest venue on the PGA Tour and a place he had not visited in 14 years.
Every Woods movement and shot was chronicled Thursday afternoon, and it wasn't pretty. He started his year 4-over through his first four holes and looked completely uncomfortable around the green, often choosing a mid-iron or putter to chip up like some high-handicapper playing a weekend game at the local muni. At one point, only three players in the field had a worse score than Tiger. He made the turn and avoided a total disaster of a round with a back nine that included an eagle and a birdie to get to 2-over and in a tie for 106th place.
But Tiger is going to have a lot of work to do to make the weekend in his first event of the year. Woods will play his second round largely in obscurity and out of view of the TV cameras, teeing off at 9:57 a.m. ET and before 8 a.m. local on the 10th tee. That means he'll be at the rowdy 16th hole bright and early, before the fans have worked themselves into a full lather. He had to back off his ball twice there on Thursday, and didn't look comfortable in that wild coliseum setting. If he doesn't get under-par on Friday, this may be the last time he plays the hole for awhile.
While Tiger will play his round before the broadcast comes on the air, the local favorite, Phil Mickelson, will be out on the opposite side of the draw with Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan. They tee off No. 1 at 2:07 p.m. ET and will headline TV coverage and whip up the Friday afternoon crowds in Scottsdale. Mickelson will be one of the final players to come through No. 16, when it will be at its loudest and most crowded.
Phil started his tournament going the wrong with with a bogey on his first hole and a bad double on a par-5. But as he always does, he snuck his way out of trouble and got into the house in 2-under and in the top 30. The West Coast swing is typically a portion of the schedule where Mickelson shines, and the Phoenix Open is a big part of that past success. The ASU grad is coming off his worst season and getting on the board early in 2015 would be a nice way to recover.
Mickelson seemed to think he might be on the favorable side of the draw, with some rain potentially softening up the course for the afternoon tee times on Friday. If he starts going low, that may mitigate the possible loss of Tiger after just two rounds. Here's the full tee sheet for Friday's second round (all times ET):
Morning wave off No.1:
Tee Time | Players | ||
9:30 a.m. | Robert Allenby | Brendon de Jonge | Nicholas Thompson |
9:39 a.m. | Freddie Jacobson | Danny Lee | Brice Garnett |
9:48 a.m. | Kyle Stanley | Jhonattan Vegas | Chris Stroud |
9:57 a.m. | J.B. Holmes | Geoff Ogilvy | Harris English |
10:06 a.m. | Brian Harman | Scott Stallings | Charles Howell III |
10:15 a.m. | Nick Taylor | Nick Watney | Kevin Na |
10:24 a.m. | Woody Austin | Scott Piercy | Rory Sabbatini |
10:33 a.m. | Sang-Moon Bae | Ben Crane | Ryan Palmer |
10:42 a.m. | Chad Campbell | Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano | Andrew Svoboda |
10:51 a.m. | John Huh | Padraig Harrington | Adam Hadwin |
11 a.m. | Daniel Berger | Scott Harrington | Jon Rahm |
Morning wave off No.10:
Tee Time | Players | ||
9:30 a.m. | Charlie Beljan | Brian Davis | Ryo Ishikawa |
9:39 a.m. | Chez Reavie | Morgan Hoffmann | Jason Kokrak |
9:48 a.m. | Erik Compton | David Hearn | Troy Kelly |
9:57 a.m. | Patrick Reed | Tiger Woods | Jordan Spieth |
10:06 a.m. | Bubba Watson | Billy Horschel | Hideki Matsuyama |
10:15 a.m. | Chesson Hadley | Michael Thompson | Mike Weir |
10:24 a.m. | Steven Bowditch | David Toms | Stewart Cink |
10:33 a.m. | Derek Ernst | Mark Wilson | K.J. Choi |
10:42 a.m. | Cameron Tringale | Michael Putnam | Jim Renner |
10:51 a.m. | Brendan Steele | Jeff Overton | Spencer Levin |
11 a.m. | Tony Finau | Justin Thomas | Cory Renfrew |
Afternoon wave off No.1:
Tee Time | Players | ||
1:40 a.m. | Bo Van Pelt | Kevin Kisner | Luke Guthrie |
1:49 a.m. | Robert Garrigus | Tim Wilkinson | Billy Hurley III |
1:58 a.m. | Jason Bohn | Ricky Barnes | Martin Flores |
2:07 p.m. | Hunter Mahan | Phil Mickelson | Rickie Fowler |
2:16 p.m. | Matt Kuchar | Jason Dufner | Keegan Bradley |
2:25 p.m. | Robert Streb | Ben Martin | Retief Goosen |
2:34 p.m. | Matt Jones | Brandt Snedeker | Jonas Blixt |
2:43 p.m. | Camilo Villegas | Martin Laird | Justin Leonard |
2:52 p.m. | Pat Perez | William McGirt | Brooks Koepka |
3:01 p.m. | Andres Romero | Brian Stuard | Francesco Molinari |
3:10 p.m. | Carlos Ortiz | Derek Fathauer | Michael Hopper |
Afternoon wave off No.10:
Tee Time | Players | ||
1:40 a.m. | Graham DeLaet | Kevin Chappell | Troy Merritt |
1:49 a.m. | Carl Pettersson | Shawn Stefani | James Hahn |
1:58 a.m. | Bryce Molder | Scott Langley | Jamie Donaldson |
2:07 p.m. | Ryan Moore | Seung-Yul Noh | Zach Johnson |
2:16 p.m. | Bill Haas | Russell Henley | Gary Woodland |
2:25 p.m. | Angel Cabrera | Ken Duke | John Merrick |
2:34 p.m. | Charley Hoffman | Kevin Streelman | Matt Every |
2:43 p.m. | Boo Weekley | Lucas Glover | Kenny Perry |
2:52 p.m. | Aaron Baddeley | Daniel Summerhays | Russell Knox |
3:01 p.m. | George McNeill | Scott Verplank | Justin Hicks |
3:10 p.m. | Sung Joon Park | Andrew Loupe | Michael Block |
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