Tiger Woods | Every shot broadcast from his 82nd PGA TOUR title | ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP 2019

From the United States, the current Masters champion, Tiger Woods! What a scene this morning on the 10th hole. It was fabulous. The adoring crowd jacked up to see Tiger compete in Japan for the first time since 2006, every step he's taken at Accordia Golf near Shino Country Club. Fans have cheered. Cameras have clicked. Here's how his day began. Steve Sands pleased to be alongside Frank Nabilow, and Tiger was looking left. It took one extra bounce, Steve, and it found the water down the left side. So not the start he or any of those adoring thousands of people wanted. Yeah, this dramatically better, Steve. Just over 100 yards uphill. And then took it right out. It's a giant side chance to get away with a par. Here is the par putt. Always left. Quick bogey. Bogey his second hole of the day now to avoid three straight bogeys. Yeah, this was his return putt, so it's a three-putt bogey and three... First birdie of the day came at the 14th. Up the hill, Tiger back to two over par. Going now, here's his second at 15 from the right rough. Yeah, this is just such a good shot. Premier iron player, I mean, tosses this one right up in the air. These greens are small. And what a great shot. Maybe start to develop some momentum. Yeah, this is absolute money there, two in a row. Then at 16, he began with three bogeys. How about three birdies? At 14, 15, and 16, and Tiger Woods climbs all the way back to even putt. At the 18th, this is an eagle try. After a beautiful second at the par 5 from 237 yards, Tiger... The energy here is powerful. This first hole, just a short position hole at par 4. And Tiger will like this one. And as we go back down to Tiger, at the first, his 10th hole of the day, Greg, right in the middle of the fairway. 117 yards, and, man, does he have some great games. He can hit this in there a little low to that. That's exactly what he's done. Good-looking shot right there. This comes back a little bit. The pins have settled in for Tiger. Now, Tiger, he's birdied four of his last six holes to get it back to one under par. Here he is trying to get it to two. He's an all-golf course, Steve, built back in 1965, so a lot of greens slope from back to front. You get above the hole, saw that just with Matsuyama that quick. Here is that par putt from Tiger. All right, so one under par. And after that difficult start, Tiger's only two shots back at hole. Tiger Woods, Greg with an iron. Yeah, you have some options here, Phil. With that club, you can take that left bunker out and play it. It's about 255. And it is helpful here. Remember, it pinches between a couple of trees. Right down the center. You're gonna love that one, Phil. Yeah, it really pinches it really narrow. Some players might take it over those trees with it. 33 yards left hole location. The wind from the land will draw in here, Phil. Beautiful shot. Tiger putting it on the display here after that terrible start. His fifth birdie in his last seven holes. Thought that was gonna turn a little left. It didn't do it, so disappointing. Now the best of the three. And by that, Tiger all of a sudden just one shot down. Tee shot here for Tiger straight downwind. It's 500-yard par 4, and you take it over the tree. There's water all down the left. Helpful breeze out of the right. This is the tree that Craig's talking about. Even a little bit left of it, it's downwind. But if you push it right, you get blocked out by trees. You're looking a little right. You go through the fairway into the rough. Oh, that is ideal. Well, in Japan, most courses do have two greens on each hole. Different seasons, they play different greens. One of the best iron players in the history of the game. And he's liking this one on a good line. Fantastic shot. Another great birdie chance. A new putter a couple of days ago, but he's still got the trusty one in the bag. Oh! Well, that's the reason why. Birdie number six. And guess who's at the top of the leaderboard. After three straight bogeys, very good shot safely into the middle of the green. That's where he wants it. That's where he is. Very, very intense mentally, but yet there is that calmness, that relaxed feeling about the way his body seems to work. Got a great, really rolling the putter well. Got a great look here. Expects this to be pretty close. It's good. It's good. Seventh birdie in the last 10. Goes into the left rough. Comes in from the PGA Tour rule staff. Rough's about 2 1⁄2 inches, and they are not mowing it. Put a fancy follow-through. Just drill it down. Yeah, it's a beautiful shot, just scurrying down the field. It's really well-advanced. Was that one maybe to protect his body? Follow-through that way? Shot at this par 5, 6 for Tiger. 91 yards here for Tiger. Just cannot miss it there. Significant fall. It's flighted in low. Another birdie chance coming up. In the last 12 holes. Here I am. That left hand. Spot on. So we've got an extremely good read. Tommy's fell left once it did come through the hole. Needs to keep to it. Oh, what a par. Must. Tee shot starts. Little one trying to cut. Phil made run up. Control swing there. Brilliant hands will work on this shot. This has actually jumped up a little bit coming out of the rough. Strike was obviously not his best. Phil, nine weeks away. I'm surprised how sharp he is around the green. He talked about flipping the switch on 14 after three straight bogeys. It's amazing how the best players in the world have the ability to make adjustments mid-round. That's true, but we said it in the pregame yesterday, Steve. One of the things the last few years. On the right side. Oh, it's a great kick. It's not the best of lies, right? Four yards with an eight iron. Just be careful he doesn't sort of get a jumper out of here and go long and left everything feet away. Wind is helpful. Center of the green, maybe 25 feet right of the flag, I think, would be ideal. Often has a slightly different routine for a trouble shot. Once he gets it, it's one look, and then you go. Contact was good, but it looks to me like it's left of the flag. Maybe just barely. Oh, what a shot. Not much left. His best opening round in the first round of any PGA Tour season for Tiger, besting a 66 in 2007 at Torrey Pines. Just the key here, guys, to get it in the fairway because Frank mentioned that his preferred line is three wood for Tiger. Starting down the right, trying to draw. Next on the tee from Japan. Just 132 yards for Tiger. Really working on changing his trajectory on the range. This one, a little low draw. Working towards the flag. Oh, yeah. How about that? Nice start. He's tilted left, but then late. So he wanders back to the right, playing it straight. OK. This is the nine, Steve. He recorded. Yeah, it looked pretty solid there, didn't it? Had to play this front side really well. Good posture. Ooh, that sat down, too, that level. And then make their way to the PGA Tour, and we get to know them so well, watching them in tournaments like the Eastlake Cup. There's Tiger's second. Taking the chance, really, if you will, to find something that works for them that maybe is a little outside the box. Tiger now for par. The right breaking putts. He hardly had any right-to-lefters. That was right-to-left. Get a better angle to the hole location. That's also a nine-iron for Tiger. Doing flights, he's a little lower. He can shape it however he chooses. Wasn't his best? Yeah, it was a slight pull left of the flag. With a low tee ball. And that's where it started, and cut him. Ideal. Hit a good tee shot here on Thursday. It's set ideally to a left-to-right wind. And it starts in the center. And that wind just holding it up here. Just fell away to the right at the end, but the pace was brilliant. Not many spectators, not as many distractions. Sort of feels like a casual practice round, but in the back of your mind, you know this round counts. Absolutely. See a little bit of a cut shot here. And flight down, starting left, and actually hooking. That's the dreaded double cross right there. Settles down in the rough. By some of the best hands in the world of golf, really. But it's a challenging one. Pretty good right there. About five or six feet left for his par. That was a right-to-left miss earlier at the second. See how he handles this one. Oh, well done. Good putt there. Put it up on the corner. This is trying to cut, but to me, with it being downwind, may run out of real estate. Yeah, takes a big bounce, too, into the trees. Frank, I think to advance it 120 yards would be magnificent. Choke right down. Hopefully not run through the fairway. Still fine. 8-iron, really, towards the center of the green. Think a little hop step there. Added a bit more juice to that. Much less loft here, pitching back up the slope. A lot of green that he can use. That one checked a little quicker than he would have liked. Now I have enough freedom, not quite, at that sort of level right now, but this is another big putt. He certainly ought to make a six on a par five. All right, he walks that one in. I think he had a much flatter trajectory and pulled and not trying to cut. So, Kate, he's not as sharp with his irons today. And he's a couple back. Look at that. He is very comfortable with left-to-right putts this week. And welcome back. Tiger Woods on the tee with a fairway wood. And just threw three wood on the ground. This whole plan straight downwind and cutting down the right-hand side here, Phil. He came out of that one a little bit and will miss the fairway to the right. Bunker and the flagstick. This one launched way up in there. And has found that front bunker, Phil. Need a little more short game magic in commercial break. You would have seen Tiger's bunker shot. This one here played very well. He's got such great hands, doesn't he, Phil? But the lie was very good on you because there are no people out here. There's no question he's focused, but maybe not the intensity and grinding that in him. Breeze has freshened here and back into his face, that going left. Rattles around the trees. Oh, how about that? So, unlike what happened at six when it just went through the trees. In for a Tiger back into the wind. And he chases that one up onto the green. So, unlike yesterday. Front nine, one under, though. And remember, the tenth is now being played at just 140 yards. Good iron swing. And, well, he can't see the result. That's pretty good. Quick putt, though, coming down the hill. He's using, he's won 14 major championships with. Oh, oh, no. Oh, darn. Oh, no. Come on, now. I mean, it was wriggling down the hill, but it just looked like it was going to catch enough of the lip. Well, it starts down the right. The action, to me, looked like it should be turning left. That was his best finish up into his front side, getting through the ball with the driver we've seen all day. Look at the location. If he can hit this just a little bit left of the hole, he'll have a left-to-right breaking putt. And he is that precise. Right in underneath it, putting. Built back in 1965. Stay up. It did. Catches the left corner, Tiger Woods, with a birdie here at the 11th. Walked that one in. Maybe a squeeze cut. Started left, but I believe this is overcutting, Frank. You're right about those fields. Look for this thing to jump. It was just 182 to the front. Comes up just shy. 12th. Trying to work with, see if he goes with something a little less lofted. Nicely done. A mere formality. That hole location, perched over there. Finally just left of the flag. Well, it looks like a little left-to-right putt he's left himself, and you know all about those. Look at this. Look at that. Boy. He looks so good over those putts. At the moment, some weeks, you just grimace through the ball there. But it finds the first cut of rough sitting nicely. Fly good in that first cut. Flatter ball flight. It's interesting you would say that yesterday. You watched him coming off the driving range, talking with Pat Perez and laughing and a couple of other players. Tried to play the skipper and just flew a little too far. The green trick is about which one to use. A little bump and run here. It's interesting he chose to chip that there, putting through it, that first cut of rough. A lot of players would have putted that or bellied a wedge. Look at that second 3-wood here for Tiger, and it's hanging down the right side. Looks to me like it should find the fairway. So there you go. That's one strategy. Flighted down a little draw. Will it hang up? It's trying. Creeps away. Seen it on so many different occasions. Take his 4, however, at 15. And move along. Three holes to go in this second round. Do not miss this green right, so cut it towards that right hole location. That's what he's tried to do, but he's pulled another iron shot. Should find the green. OK. I was going to say, that water does lurk on the left side. That's fine, though. Well, that was not his best putt this week. He's had good pace, mostly, but that was a very slow putt. How's his body going to take it? That's a big question mark. But this is for a par. Yeah, straight in the middle of the hole. Also getting tough to see. No problem seeing this run. Fell right down the center. Beautiful. About that. That was long, too. He flew it 300 yards. It works on down the slope. That'll leave him a short approach in here. Solid strike. Working it towards the flag. Little cut. Beautiful. Beautiful. In the previous one, bounced right back here with a birdie. Impressive. That was two beautiful shots. Launched really high, but drifting out to the right towards that first bunker through the fairway. Unfortunately short of it. Just ballooned it up. Well struck towards the center of the green. Oh, yeah. Look at this. Couldn't be better than a 3-4 finish. It was flawless. The first round after that sluggish start. Today, he's just being patient. I think that's the way. For Eagle at 18. And that goes in. So, Tiger Woods has a two-shot lead through 36 holes of this first-ever Zozo championship. Hole location. Cutting back towards the flag. Down. Go. Oh. Yeah. Well, it started in the center of the water and the cutting. Need to get down. Just a close kick. It's okay. Good. This does start on the center of the green, but it's just not cutting. It's going to be a good shot, though. The putter more weak. Yeah, these friends are— Oh. Speed is now back to three. Starts left, but it's not cutting. Get up. But relaxed. That's a dangerous combination. Well, he may have hit the fairway here, Phil. Beautiful little gentle cut. It was a free swing there. He got all the way through that ball. That was fabulous. That they even called their name. Distance control. You can see the line. If you're in the game and you ever putt at the level that we're considering, there's a chance here to extend his lead. Zero true trouble this time. It's a narrow field. Being very comfortable hitting the cup. And that's what he's trying to do here. Can't be dribbling back to the right. Four yards behind this flag. Mace on it. Six, seven feet past. Keeps that blade so— He's on the middle a bit. Beautiful tee shot. And Tiger's second. Tried to draw that one a little bit. The worst tee shots he hits are when he tries to draw it quite a bit. Put the face quite a bit open as if he's going to loft this pretty high in the air. Let's see what he does. And low. Yeah, it was a poor strike. Sort of stuck the club into the ground. Clean strike. More so maybe than he thought. So he's going to have a good— Fourth-easiest hole on the golf course. Smartly left to the flag. High side. Low. Now safely in. Good draw swing, Craig. Yeah, draw the side. Didn't like that. But, for sure, heading to par 5-18 is the lead. Well-struck on this right of the flag. Give us attention. Cozy it down there, but well short. Like you said, Frank, you had— Go, go, go, go! Face to the green. There we go. That little break did him good. This cut towards the flag. Gorgeous-looking shot. This one not pulled. This cutting back towards the flag. Gorgeous-looking shot. Dirty birdie. Safety towards the centre of the green. Just on the high side. Much movement. Let's allow the fans to tell you whether this birdie putt goes home. The right-hand side of the field. He's trying to turn over. Well, it sat down pretty hard. Yeah, it's solid, nearly perfect. His best putt. He does it. Lovely stroke. No swing. Comes up just a little. Good contact. This will be appetising. This one did start late, but unfortunately not cut. Going to miss the fairway. Great kick. Oh my goodness. Starting towards centre to centre. Maybe a missed strike. And in the front bunker. So only a par for Tiger. Good opportunity squandered there. And this starts down the left-hand side. Second shot now for Tiger here at the 14. 321 yards and a cut down there. He was watching intently what Natsuyama was doing up at the green. Oh, beautiful shot. He gets it on that back shelf. He's got a chance for birdie. The best, Phil, for the driver. 14 off the tee was good. Much higher. Very good line. Oh, great shot. Oh, it went left. So the lead remains at 3. Well, there he is. Started actually at the flank. Cut towards the centre of the green. That's a bit of a mystery too. Damage done. It's a par. What we call the last time seen him so confident on the tee. Well, it was a knockdown start at the centre of the green. Just never cut. Maybe got to work to think that's what he had in mind when he came to the 17th. You have to watch with that two shot. Right where you'd expect it. The winning putt. And that is as it should be. So cool to hear him say once again.