Ian Poulter shoots career-low round to take Bridgestone lead; Tiger Woods four back

Ian Poulter benefited from easy scoring conditions on Thursday, shooting an eight-under 62 to take the opening round lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Firestone Country Club was there for the taking on Thursday, and Ian Poulter took full advantage.

The 42-year-old Englishman shot an eight-under 62 in the opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, taking a one-shot lead over Kyle Stanley and Rickie Fowler.

Poulter got off to a fast start. Beginning his round on the back-nine, he was five-under through his first eight holes. At the par-four first, his 10th hole, he hit his approach from 144 yards to within two feet for another birdie. He closed the round by getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the 9th to save par.

Poulter does not have a great track record at Firestone. In 13 past starts his best finish is a tie for 13th. He did win his first PGA Tour event in six years earlier this year at the Houston Open. Today’s 62 is his lowest career round on the PGA Tour. He admitted seeing his results here motivated him to play well today.

“Yeah, it fires me up. It’s frustrating to look at. I actually thought I had a better finish than that, so it really annoyed me,” he said after the round. “How can you play a good golf course this many times and not really have a result? Not to even finish in the top 10 is pretty poor.”

Fowler opened with a seven-under 63 to tie Stanley for second place. He birdied three straight holes on the front nine to go out in four-under, then holed a 28-foot birdie at the 15th. At the closing hole, he hit his approach to three feet to set up another birdie and get within one of Poulter.

Unlike Poulter, Fowler has had success at the Bridgestone Invitational. He finished in the top 10 each of the past four years and was runner-up in 2011. He is not surprised by the low scores posted today, saying the combination of the best players in the world and soft conditions made for a good day to score well.

“No one is here by accident,” he said. “You’re bringing together the best players in the world, so there’s no reason why you’re not going to see big names up there. Especially with how the golf course is playing.”

Tiger Woods, an eight-time champion of this event, opened with a four-under 66 which included a 50-foot birdie putt at the 18th, his ninth. He didn’t make a bogey until his finishing hole, the ninth. He admitted after the round, however, that he didn’t have his best stuff today.

“I just couldn’t get a feel for it. And even with my irons, I wasn’t very sharp on the back-nine. But I was just hanging in there with it,” he said. “It’s nice to put together rounds where I might not feel the best, but I’m able to post a score. That’s how you win golf tournaments.”

This is the seventh time Woods has opened the Bridgestone Invitational with a round of 66 or better. In five of the past six, he went on to win.

Woods had a remarkable journey just to get into the field this week. A year ago he was 1,046th on the World Golf Rankings and questioned whether he would ever be able to play on tour again. Now, after a sixth-place finish two weeks ago at the Open Championship, he is inside the top 50. He last won the Bridgestone Invitational in 2013 but hasn’t played since 2014.

Hot and soft conditions made for several low scores on Thursday. Jon Rahm is at six-under, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Justin Thomas shot five-under, while Phil Mickelson is tied with Woods at four-under. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, winner last week at the RBC Canadian Open, is at one-under, while Open champion Francesco Molinari is at even par.

The scoring average for the round was 68.37, the lowest for any opening round in a PGA Tour event this season.