Cut prediction: Wyndham Championship

SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods brought big crowds back to golf, and he even produced a few big roars. In his first PGA TOUR event in a year because of a fourth back surgery, Woods mixed a few mistakes with a few shots that looked familiar Thursday on his way to an even-par 72 in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open. “It was fun to compete again. It was fun to be out there,” Woods said. But he was seven shots behind Tony Finau, who led with a 65 on the North Course at Torrey Pines, and Woods will play that course on Friday on the bubble to make the cut. With virtually no wind on a day for reasonable scoring, he was tied for 84th. Woods was steady on the South Course, and at times spectacular. His three birdie putts were from a combined 30 inches. The longest of his birdie putt was from just inside 2 feet on No. 10 that got him back to even par for the round. He was one rotation away from making a long eagle putt on the par-5 sixth. What really made the gallery delirious was his 6-iron on par-3 16th hole that rolled toward the hole and broke just in front of the cup, settling 8 inches away. With the sun starting to set behind the Pacific, it was hard for him to see. “It felt good, looked good, and then we were listening for some noise,” Woods said. But he needed those three birdies to offset his mistakes, and the sobering part of his return is that Woods didn’t make a putt longer than 4 feet. That was on the second hole, when his approach from the bunker landed 6 feet behind the hole and went over the back into light rough. He also gave away a shot on the par-5 13th, when he laid up from the rough and hit a wedge that drifted right and went into the bunker. He blasted that out to 3 feet, which was the hard part. And then he missed the short par putt. Woods made his other two bogeys from greenside bunkers, both times missing 12-foot putts. He played the par 5s in even par, and didn’t give himself any other birdie chances inside 15 feet. “It’s hard to make a lot of birdies when you’re not giving yourself any looks, and I didn’t do that today,” Woods said. “Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll drive a little better, get my irons obviously a lot closer and we get the better of the two greens tomorrow. So we’ll see what happens.” But there was no mistaking his presence. Fans lined both sides of the opening fairway in anticipation of seeing Woods, who was playing the PGA TOUR for only the second time since August 2015. That was right before he had a second and third surgery on his back, which kept him away for some 15 months. He returned at Torrey Pines last year and opened with a 76 on his way to missing the cut. A week later, he withdrew after a 77 in Dubai with back spasms and was gone again. Regardless of the score, Woods looked as though he’s back for the long haul. The fusion surgery eliminated the pain. And while he wasn’t sharp, Woods hit the ball plenty far and saw at least a little bit of golf that made him such a dominant figure. The South Course, which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open that Woods won, typically is far stronger than the North at Torrey Pines. That’s no longer the case with the North getting a makeover two years ago, with bent greens that are firm this week and narrower fairways. The average score on the South was 71.62, compared with 71.31 on the North. Finau birdied his opening two holes to set the tone for his round, and he wound up with nine birdies, the last one from 35 feet to take the lead. “It played a lot tougher than it did in the past,” Finau said. “I think it’s just a credit to my start. From there I was just able to let the golf course come to me. The par 5s are very reachable for me hitting some irons in there. Again, I think it was just my start. I got off to a good start and was able to ride that momentum all the way through the round.” He had a one-shot lead over Ryan Palmer and Ted Potter Jr., who each had a 66 on the South. Defending champion Jon Rahm, who can reach No. 1 in the world by winning, opened with a 68 on the South. He hit into the water with his second shot on the par-5 18th, but he saved par with a 15-foot putt. “Just unfortunate it happened, but I made a good putt, had a couple really good putts down the stretch and had a good finish,” Rahm said. “Good momentum going to tomorrow.”

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Tiger Woods tees it up for the first time since his momentous Masters triumph – and subsequent Presidential Medal of Freedom – as the PGA Championship raises the curtain on its new May date, with Bethpage Black serving as host. Brooks Koepka makes the first of his two major title defenses in 2019, seeking to become the PGA’s first back-to-back champion since Woods in 2006-07. Jordan Spieth, meantime, makes his third run at completing the career Grand Slam. FIELD NOTES: Phil Mickelson, runner-up at both U.S. Opens held at Bethpage Black (2002, 2009), is set for his 102nd major start since turning professional. … One spot in the field remains for the winner of this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, if not already qualified. … The field includes 69 international players, representing 27 different nations. … All but two of the top 65 in the FedExCup standings have entered, missing only No. 59 Patrick Rodgers and No. 64 J.T. Poston. … The lineup also includes the top 20 finishers from the PGA Professional Championship earlier this month. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. STORYLINES: Woods, with that elusive 15th major title finally in the bag, now goes after a 16th on a Bethpage Black layout where he won the 2002 U.S. Open. He has not hit a competitive shot since leaving Augusta, opting for rest instead of his usual start at Quail Hollow. … Koepka seeks a fourth major title in a 23-month span, coming off a runner-up finish to Woods at Augusta. He’s finished outside the top 15 in a major just once in that stretch. … A Spieth victory would make him just the sixth to accomplish the career Grand Slam, and second-youngest to do it after Woods. However, he’s still in search of his first top-20 finish of 2019. … With the move to May, the PGA Championship ventures outside the July-August window for just the second time in 70 years. The other came in 1971, played in February in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. … The top 60 in the world rankings after Sunday’s finish receive automatic berths into next month’s U.S. Open. No. 60 Sungjae Im is on the bubble; Emiliano Grillo (61st) and Chez Reavie (63rd) are trying to move in. COURSE: Bethpage State Park (Black), 7,432 yards, par 70. Taking its third bow on the major championship stage, the 1936 A.W. Tillinghast gem was a bit of a New York secret until the 2002 U.S. Open. Woods won that crown, posting the only under-par score of the tournament, and Lucas Glover captured a rain-soaked U.S. Open upon its return in 2009. Since then, the Black Course has become part of THE NORTHERN TRUST rotation with host duties in 2012 and ’16. A famous sign greets golfers near the first tee warning only “highly skilled� golfers should play the Black, and its reputation attracted pros such as Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson early on for a trial. Snead famously called it “an unfair test� after beating Nelson in a 1940 exhibition. The 2024 Ryder Cup will be contested at Bethpage Black. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Brooks Koepka (2018 at Bellerive CC). 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Bruce Crampton (2nd round, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (1st round, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (2nd round, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (1st round, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (4th round, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (3rd round, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (2nd round, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (3rd round, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (2nd round, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (1st round, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (2nd round, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (2nd round, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (2nd round, 2016 at Baltusrol), Brooks Koepka (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive), Charl Schwartzel (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive). LAST YEAR: Koepka became a major champion for the third time in 14 months, posting a record-setting performance to hold off Woods’ electrifying Sunday at Bellerive. With cheers for the resurgent Woods ringing out across the terrain, Koepka took control with three straight birdies to end the front nine and added two more at Nos. 15 and 16 to open enough cushion. He finished with a 4-under-par 66, and his total of 264 matched Henrik Stenson’s week at the 2016 Open Championship. Paired with his two U.S. Open titles, Koepka became just the fifth man to capture three majors before the age of 30. Woods finished two shots back after a 64, his best final round in any major. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday, 1-7 p.m. ET (TNT). Friday, 1-7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (TNT), 2-7 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (SiriusXM).

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Round 3 of the TOUR Championship begins Sunday from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with Dustin Johnson leading a packed leaderboard. The FedExCup title will be claimed on Monday. The opening round began with a staggered leaderboard (click here to see the starting leaderboard). RELATED: Tee times | Staggered start | FedExCup 101 Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Friday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC). Monday, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Friday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Holes). Monday, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 1:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Friday-Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland Sunday: 1:22 p.m. ET Daniel Berger, Bryson DeChambeau Sunday: 1:32 p.m. ET MUST READS Leaders struggle Saturday, setting the stage for a sprint to the FedExCup DJ takes slim 36-hole lead What happened? McIlroy explains second shot on No. 18 Eight things to know about East Lake

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