Tiger Woods ‘revved up’ after impressive opening at Valspar golf championship

A revved-up Tiger Woods said the juices are flowing after making a strong start to his Valspar Championship campaign. The 14-time major champion carded a one-under-par 70 to be tied for eighth in Palm Harbor, Florida on Thursday.

It was a topsy-turvy outing for Tiger Woods, who had five birdies to go with four bogeys as he ended the opening round alongside Masters champion Sergio Garcia and three shots behind leader Corey Conners.

“The (juices) are flowing. I’m revved up. I love competition,” Tiger Woods said following his round.

“I have a great pairing this week. Jordan (Spieth) and Henrik (Stenson) are two great guys. Very competitive. Have had great years.”

Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth look over a putt on the second hole during the first round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 8, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (AFP)

“I enjoy when par is a good score, it’s a reward,’’ said Woods. “There are some tournaments when [after] about four holes you don’t make a birdie and you feel like you’re behind.

“Today, made a couple of birdies, all of a sudden that puts me fourth, fifth right away. That’s how hard it is.

“It’s the reward to go out there and make a couple birdies here and there and I like that type of challenge.’’

“I feel like I’m pleased with every aspect of my game,’’ he continued. “I drove it well, I hit a lot of good iron shots today and had some good speed on the putts. I thought I really did well today overall.’’

Tiger Woods plays his second shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 8, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (AFP)

NERVY MOMENT

Tiger Woods – making his first appearance at Innisbrook since 1996 – survived a nervy moment when his left arm hit a tree.

The 42-year-old, whose career has been derailed by back injuries, pulled his tee shot on the par-four 16th hole as the ball ended up in front of a tree.

Trying to play his way out of trouble, Woods made contact with the tree but the American star avoided injury as his club went flying in the air.

Wait until you see the second angle in slow motion 👀#MustSeeMoments https://t.co/sX50na8uq7 pic.twitter.com/Zwl8S7HcWF

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2018

A handful of chip-ins and vintage @TigerWoods​.

Round 1 highlights from the @ValsparChamp​! pic.twitter.com/NKBk3rDUIL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2018

“It didn’t feel very good,” Woods added. “I moved all the people and even warned them in case the club breaks and gets over there.”