Woods finished only 10 holes in the rain-delayed first round at Merion, spending far too much time trying to gouge out of the thick rough with a wedge. On at least four occasions, he was either flexing or shaking his left hand after the forceful shots.
He was 2-over par when play was suspended because of darkness, leaving him about a 4-foot par putt on the 11th hole when he returns at 7:15 a.m. Friday.
It was probably a good time for Woods to stop.
He pulled his tee shot with an iron well left of the 11th fairway, and only the thick grass kept it from going into the creek. He took another powerful hack out of the rough to clear the winding creek that fronts the green, and then played a flop shot from the rough to 4 feet.
When a USGA official mentioned that his wrist appeared to be a problem, Woods replied, ''It's fine.''
With a better forecast the rest of the week, Woods will play 25 full holes on Friday and try to make up ground on the leaders. Phil Mickelson completed his round of 67, while Luke Donald was at 4-under and approaching the difficult, five-hole finish.
''I've got a lot of holes to play tomorrow,'' Woods said. ''And hopefully, I can play a little better than I did today.''
Woods has gone five years without winning a major, though his four PGA Tour wins in eight starts indicates that his game is in good shape.
As he's done in other majors, Woods began with poor tee shot that found the rough on the gentle, opening hole at Merion. He grimaced after digging into the gnarly rough to hack out to the fairway and started with a bogey.
Luke Donald leads with 4-under through 13 holes.
Truth is, everyone might be in trouble. Merion will grab at the heels of any golfer who threatens to run away with this tournament. After Thursday, only six players had a score of better than 1-under; and of those, only Mickelson is in the clubhouse with in improbable 3-under 67.
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