GULLANE, Scotland – By the time Tiger Woods finally made his way up to the 18th green, the bleachers were half empty and long shadows crept across the fairway.
The major championships are usually grinds, and for anyone playing in the afternoon Thursday, the first round of the British Open was even more of a grind than ever. The wind was blowing harder than expected, the golf course was drying up by the minute, and anything around par was a score to be respected.
And there was Woods, feeling awfully good about a 2-under 69 that had to give him hope his five-year drought in the major championships might come to an end this week at Muirfield.
Woods was three shots off the lead held by Zach Johnson with three rounds to be played.
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