Baylor School graduate Luke List tracks his tee shot on the 17th hole at Firestone Country Club during Thursday’s first round of the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. List shot a 65 and was tied for seventh, three shots out of the lead.AKRON, Ohio – Ian Poulter was annoyed after realizing he had never finished better than 13th at Firestone Country Club, so he took a step toward doing something about it Thursday with an 8-under-par 62 and a one-shot lead in the Bridgestone Invitational.
Tiger Woods found himself fighting his swing on the way to a 66.
Such was the difference of two players with vastly different memories on the stout South Course at Firestone.
Woods is an eight-time winner of the event, already a PGA Tour record for most victories on one course. Back at this World Golf Championship for the first time in four years, he made a 50-foot birdie putt and two other long putts to offset some average iron play.
It was his best opening round of the year, and he needed it just to keep pace with everyone else on a soft and vulnerable course that led to 45 players in the 71-man field breaking par. The average score was 68.37, the lowest for the opening round at Firestone since it became a WGC in 1999 and the lowest for the first round of any PGA Tour event this season.