Tiger Woods and the rest of the best golfers in the world are in Mexico City this week for the WGC-Mexico Championship. The tournament is held Club de Golf Chapultepec, a course Tiger has never played before. But with the high elevation of Mexico City the players are hitting some ridiculously long shots and having a lot of fun doing so. While Rory McIlory got off to a really hot start, Tiger Woods did not but the introduction he received on the first tee was probably the best one of his legendary career. Because the guy announcing each player had a lot of fun welcoming Tiger: Tiger might hire this guy to introduce him everywhere pic.twitter.com/nVwd1GIMVY — GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) February 21, 2019 That was awesome. Well done, guy who introduces the players on the first tee. Check out the extended version, which is just as great: What an introduction for @TigerWoods at @PGATOUR world golf championship in Chapultepec, Mexico. pic.twitter.com/cJddUBLcTP — John Murray (@oilsearchertwo) February 21, 2019 However, moments after that happened Tiger hit his first tee shot way left and out of bounds. He had to battle just to get a double-bogey on the easy opening hole. First shot for Tiger Woods @WGCMexico? Out of bounds. A double bogey to start. pic.twitter.com/8oV7DdhK2u — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 21, 2019 The announcer was definitely the best part of Tiger’s first hole, as Twitter loved it: I nominate the guy that is doing the first tee introductions at the WGC-Mexico event to forever announce at every event moving forward. He's like Ivor Robson but if Ivor had a Red Bull every 5 minutes for four straight days. So good. — Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) February 21, 2019 That Tiger Woods introduction was ELECTRIC. — Aaron Flener (@AaronFlener) February 21, 2019 Tiger Woods introduction is Mexico was Classic — Bert l Osborne jr (@BertlOsbornejr2) February 21, 2019 Did anyone else seriously appreciate the three first name introduction for Tiger Tiger Tiger Woods on the first tee at the WGC-Mexico Championship?! 😁🥳 — Aya Johnson (@ayapapaya00211) February 21, 2019 Tiger Woods' first-tee introduction was a sight to behold. His tee-shot, not so much https://t.co/u9TXmWao9G pic.twitter.com/X4X9PmxnJo — Jodie Luke (@Jodielukehomes) February 21, 2019 Tiger Woods just got the best introduction on the first tee — worthless stat enthusiast (@joshdub_) February 21, 2019 That introduction of @TigerWoods at the @PGATOUR in Mexico was amazing! — Michael (@CircleCityParks) February 21, 2019<doc-sep>1:11 Tiger Woods gets the giggles on the first tee in Mexico after a lengthy, and bizarre introduction, but he wasn't laughing when he pulled his tee shot out-of-bounds! Tiger Woods gets the giggles on the first tee in Mexico after a lengthy, and bizarre introduction, but he wasn't laughing when he pulled his tee shot out-of-bounds! Tiger Woods was reduced to laughter on the first tee of the WGC-Mexico Championship, but his mood soon took a turn for the worse when he pulled his tee shot out-of-bounds. Woods, making his first competitive appearance in the country, teed his ball up and then waited an eternity for the MC to introduce him to the packed gallery, although listing all his major achievements does take some time! He was eventually announced in uplifting fashion as "Tiger ... Tiger ... Tiger Woods" - which resulted in the 14-time major champion unable to avoid a fit of the giggles, and he took time to compose himself as he attempted to drive the par-four first with a fairway-wood from the tee. Woods admitted he feared a 'big number' at the first hole But, perhaps distracted by the lengthy and entertaining introduction, his plan to hit a high fade was scuppered when he tugged his ball too far left, and it took a nasty kick to the left and disappeared beyond the out-of-bounds markers. Forced to reload, Woods' second effort was almost a carbon-copy of the first and he could consider himself fortunate not to be playing five off the tee, and he eventually did well to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker to limit the damage to a double-bogey six. The 43-year-old recovered and carded a level-par 71 which left him eight shots adrift of leader Rory McIlroy, and he admitted afterwards that he feared he would run up a "big number" at the opening hole. "I pulled across it to try and cut it and hit it dead off the toe," Woods said. "I hit both of them dead off the toe. The second one was on the exact same line as the first, and I was thinking 'This could be a pretty big number.' "So I got off to a bad start, got it going after a little bit there and made three birdies in a row, but I couldn't make any birdies after that for some reason. It is what it is." Watch the video above to see the highs and lows of Tiger Woods on the first tee in Mexico. Live featured group coverage of Friday's second round begins at 5pm on Sky Sports Golf.<doc-sep>How did the crowd in Mexico greet Tiger Woods at his first-ever WGC-Mexico Championship and first appearance at this event since 2014? With a raucous cacophony and a "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" introduction from the starter. How did Woods return the greeting? He hit his first ball out of bounds. Woods would go on to make a double-bogey six, which put him in a bind throughout the day. He didn't play terribly, but he also didn't play great and finished with an even-par 71. And in WGC events, if you're not playing great, then you're probably getting lapped by somebody else in these elite fields. Front nine (even-par 35): Woods bounced back after the double with three birdies in his next five holes, but he would only play two holes all day while in the red. A bogey to close out his first nine sent him to the back at even par, well back of Rory McIlroy's huge lead, which ended at eight. Back nine (even-par 36): There were fewer fireworks on the back (both good and bad for Woods). He made a single birdie with a single bogey and did nothing remarkable or unremarkable (other than a three-putt on a par-3 that led to the bogey). What went well: Woods again hit his irons well, and I thought he putted pretty valiantly, too. Players talked about how tricky and tough these greens were after their rounds, but Woods handled them well and was in the positive in strokes gained putting in his first time seeing the course. What went poorly: There are only 72 players in the field, and Woods finished 71st in driving. Here's the thing: he didn't drive it poorly other than that one stroke at the first hole. Those two tee shots lost him three strokes on the field, mostly because players like Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy were all driving the green and putting for eagle. There were more eagles (3) than double bogeys or worse (2). Other than this one hole, Woods had a pretty good day. Where he stands: Woods finishes the day at T25, tied with guys like Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Gary Woodland. He's not out of it quite yet, but he has three of the maybe four or five best players on the planet in Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson all five or more strokes in front of him with just 54 holes to go. I don't think the 18 WGC victory total is going to move to 19 later this week. What's next: Woods got off to a so-so start in the first two rounds last week at Riviera, too, before clawing his way back in the tournament. So it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. But he'll need a huge Day 2 on Friday to have any hope of contending for his first WGC win since 2013. Woods will play with Bryson DeChambeau and Abraham Ancer again on Friday at 12:51 p.m. ET. They'll tee off on the 10th hole so Woods will have a little time to think about playing the first.<doc-sep>
MEXICO CITY -- The first-tee announcer at Club de Golf Chapultepec had Tiger Woods laughing as he teed up his ball, introducing the 80-time PGA Tour winner in most unusual fashion. But Woods' introduction to a Mexico golf competition was not so funny. Woods promptly knocked his tee shot out of bounds, nearly did the same with the second, and double-bogeyed one of the easiest holes on the course on his way to an even-par 71 in the first round of the WGC Mexico Championship. He is tied for 25th and trails first-round leader Rory McIlroy by eight strokes. Playing the Mexico City tournament for the first time and making his competitive debut in Mexico, Woods, 43, immediately put himself in a bind with a 5-wood tee shot on a hole playing 305 yards and downhill that went left. "Well, I was trying to cut it and I pulled it across and hit it dead off the toe," he said. "Hit both of them off the toe. It's just not going to cut when you hit it off the toe. Didn't cut." After teeing it up again, Woods said the second ball was on the exact same line, and he thought "this could be a pretty big number." But the ball was in bounds, and Woods had to play in from under a tree and into a bunker. He got it up and down from there for a 6. All of this came after a rousing intro: "Tiger ... Tiger ... Tiger ... Woods!" "He said my name three times, right?" Woods said. "That was different." His play was mostly indifferent. Woods rallied with three consecutive birdies at the fourth through sixth holes. But he missed a 4-footer for par at the eighth hole and another at the 13th while not giving himself enough legitimate birdie opportunities. He birdied the par-5 15th for his fourth birdie of the day to get back to even par. Woods is playing his third tournament of the year after finishing tied for 20th at the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for 15th on Sunday at the Genesis Open. That was a long, chilly day as Woods had to play 28 holes, and the quick turnaround meant he played just nine holes in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. That did his body some good, but Woods admitted he was still struggling to figure out how far his ball traveled in the 7,800-foot altitude of Mexico City. "Last week I was hitting 5-irons that went 169 [yards], 172; here I hit wedge that went 205," he said. "A little bit different in the two weeks. Just try to get a feel for it. Uphill's playing way different than playing downhill without wind. It's a big difference playing downhill." But the altitude was not an excuse for the way he played the first hole, which played the fifth-easiest of the round. McIlroy hit an iron onto the green that he nearly holed for an ace and made a 6-footer for eagle. There were 23 scores under par on the hole and just 11 over, with Woods' 6 surpassed only by the triple-bogey 7 made by Sanghyun Park -- who shot 80. "I think realistically I could have gotten probably 4 or 5 [under par] out of it today," he said. "Just couldn't quite keep it going." Woods announced before the round that he would be skipping next week's Honda Classic before playing the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship.