U.S. Open: Koepka, McIlroy chasing Woodland

LAS VEGAS – Jordan Spieth was much maligned for his efforts on the green last season where he ranked 136th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting. It was a critical component in the 25-year-old’s fall to 31st in the FedExCup – the first time in his career he failed to make the TOUR Championship. But if his first round of the 2018-19 season is any gauge the old Spieth might just be back in business. Spieth fired an impressive 5-under 66 in the opening round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, making 108 feet, eight inches worth of putts to sit just three back of the early lead held by Peter Uihlein. Through the morning wave he gained almost three strokes on the field to rank second in Strokes Gained: Putting. “It’s getting close to where I feel like I can just kind of point, aim, shoot, which is where I want to be,â€� Spieth said after capping off his round with a 26-foot birdie putt. “Certainly nice to see some putts go in and see it pay off with a bit of results. I have belief in what I’m doing. Just continue to do it; stay the course.â€� He was most impressed with himself from close range, something that had been an issue for him last season as he dealt with setup confidence. In 2017-18 he had nine misses from three feet. In the three full seasons prior to that he missed just six of them combined. On Thursday he was 14 of 14 inside 10 feet. “Really solid inside of ten feet today, even with somewhat trickier ones as the wind picked up coming in,â€� he said. “That’s where rounds go to 5 under instead of 2 under. I was certainly able to save a couple coming in. “I’ve been hitting some pretty good putts for the last six or seven tournaments. I saw some good in at the Ryder Cup under the biggest pressure, so today kind of felt, at least heart rate-wise, like a little bit of a breeze.â€� Previously in his career Spieth had been known as a clutch putter. He ranked second in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2016 and inside the top 40 from 2014 through 2017. “Something like today will work into being the norm for me going forward. I know why and how not to have it get so off again,â€� he said. “If I shoot three more rounds like today it’s probably good enough (to win).â€�

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quail Hollow’s practice putting green is only 200 yards from the area adjacent to the clubhouse where players meet with the media. The setup was especially convenient for Tiger Woods after a first-round 71 that was defined by poor putting. He needed 31 putts in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods headed directly to the practice green after finishing his post-round interview around 6:30 p.m. He started stroking 5-foot putts between two tees that guided his putter down the proper path. Woods said he had trouble judging the speed of greens whose firmness belied their slow speed. He missed four putts inside 8 feet, including 4-footers on Nos. 14 and 16. He three-putted the 16th hole from just 15 feet after running his birdie putt by the hole. He had to hole a 17-footer for par on the par-3 17th hole after leaving his first putt well short and missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th green after a strong approach from a fairway bunker. “(The greens) feel springy and they feel fast, especially as I’m walking on them, but they’re not putting that way,� Woods said. “What I was feeling and sensing just didn’t match up.� Woods lost 1.27 strokes on the greens Thursday, ranking 120th in the 156-man field in strokes gained: putting. He started the week ranked eighth (+0.74) in that statistic. Woods won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2007, and finished no worse than 11th in his first four appearances here, but this is his first time at Quail Hollow since 2012. The greens were bentgrass when Woods won but have since been changed to Bermudagrass. He ranked 17th in strokes gained: off-the-tee on Thursday after hitting 13 greens. “Ball-striking-wise, I’m fine,� Woods said. “If I make a couple putts, I’d be 2 or 3 under par, which is fine.� Besides the short putts he missed at 14 and 16, Woods also made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the par-5 10th hole. He won’t have to wait long to try to make amends for those mistakes. He is scheduled to tee off at 7:40 a.m. He’ll start the second round six shots behind leader John Peterson, who used back-to-back eagles to shoot 65.

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What once seemed unreasonable is a worthy conversation again — for the experts, for his peers, for Tiger Woods himself. It’s OK to talk about getting to or passing Jack Nicklaus’ 18 majors.

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