Tiger Woods has issued his verdict on his opening round at the US PGA Championship.Tiger Woods has vowed he’ll be stronger over the rest of the US PGA Championship

Tiger Woods believes he is “getting stronger for sure” as he reflected on his opening round at the US PGA Championship. The golf icon was fairly upbeat despite extending his streak of failing to break par in the opening round of any tournament to 455 days, after three-putting his last two holes.

Struggling to finish strong, the 15-time Major champion seemed to lose composure when draining a birdie putt on his 16th hole – No.7 – before dropping two consequential strokes on No. 8.

The American star finished his round with a one-over 72, falling ten shots off the clubhouse lead. “It wasn’t the way I like to finish off rounds,” confessed Woods. “I three-whipped the last two holes. Bad speed on 8; whipped it past the hole. And 9, hit it short.

“Hit it off the heel of the putt and blocked the second one. So it wasn’t very good on the last two holes. Long way to go. Let’s see what happens.”

The last time Woods broke par was on the opening day at Genesis Invitational back in February 2023. But this is only his fifth tournament since, and his first since setting a record with his 24th consecutive cut in last month’s Masters.

“It took me probably three holes to get back into competitive flow again and get a feel for hitting the ball out there in competition, adrenaline, temperatures, green speeds,” he admitted. “These are all things that normally I adjust to very quickly, and it just took me a few holes to get into it. I am getting stronger for sure. It’s just that I just don’t play a whole lot of competitive rounds.”

Playing alongside Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, it took an astonishing 15 holes for the trio of Major champions to hit the fairway together on the same hole.

Bradley, the champion of the 2011 US PGA, managed to record birdies on three of his final six holes, finishing with a commendable 69. Nonetheless, Scott, the triumphant star from the 2013 Masters, posted 17 pars and one bogey to secure his round of 72.

Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele had an unforgettable opening day. Having fallen short to Rory McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship merely a week prior, the American stunned spectators by billing nine-under-par 62 at Valhalla — a record round in the major’s history

Despite this sensational start, Schauffele seems uninterested in dwelling too much on the achievement, instead diverting his focus towards upcoming challenges.

“It was a great start but we still have three rounds to play. We got put on the clock actually as we made the turn,” he commented. “I kinda got in a rhythm and had nobody ahead of us and then just got the ball rolling.”