Golf: Woods gets hot after bad start, shoots 68 at Quicken Loans - Salt Lake Tribune

Woods said it was the first time since the Masters in April that he's turned a bad round into a good one.

"That's what scoring is all about," Woods said. "I made a lot of key putts today. I ran them by the hole but I made all the comebacks, and overall I felt like I hit the ball well enough to turn it around. It was nice to actually turn it around."

Woods is the host of the Quicken Loans National, which he won in 2009 and 2012 at Congressional in Maryland. The last of his 79 PGA Tour victories was nearly two years ago, and he has plummeted to 266th in the world.

Woods got up-and-down from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-5 eighth. He made a 9-footer on 10 and a 7-footer on 11. He hit his approach to tap-in range on 12, the most difficult hole on the course, and ended the run with a 12-footer on 13. He two-putted for par on the final five holes.

The 68 was only his sixth round under 70 this year. He has had three scores of 80 or higher and has missed three cuts and withdrawn once in eight events.

In soft conditions with little wind, Woods' 68 was only good for a tie for 27th. Players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls on the rain-softened fairways, and 81 of them managed to break par.

"We got the fresh greens tomorrow," said Woods, who played in the afternoon after a 95-minute rain delay. "Hopefully, go out there and post a low one."

RTJ is welcoming a regular PGA Tour event for the first time after hosting four Presidents Cups, most recently in 2005, and experience seemed to help. Goosen, who played in two of those events, had a bogey-free 63. Presidents Cup veterans Ernie Els and Justin Leonard were one shot back, along with Kevin Chappell.

Goosen, a 46-year-old two-time major champion, is finally feeling healthy after major back surgery in 2012. Always stoic on the course, he still has plenty of passion for the game, which he showed by qualifying for both the U.S. Open and the British Open.

"I'm lucky to be out here. Three, four years ago my career looked like it was at an end," said Goosen, whose last victory was in 2009. "I'm just glad I'm still out there and playing. Yeah, I just wish I was 10 years younger again."

Ishikawa, who started on the back nine, ran off six birdies in a row starting on the 14th hole. Then he made a hole-in-one on the 180-yard fourth, spinning an 8-iron 15 feet back into the cup for his first competitive ace in the United States.

At that point he was 8 under with five holes to go. He parred the last five.

"It took about two holes to make myself calm," he said. "No. 5 was a par 5, like a birdie hole, but it was kind of difficult for me to make a par right there."

Defending champion Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field, was three shots back. So was Ollie Schneiderjans, making his second professional start.

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