How Tiger Woods did with his new mallet putter at the Quicken Loans National

Tiger Woods needed to shake something up. At the start of the week, Woods was No. 89 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting, with an average of 0.108, compared to PGA Tour leader Jason Day at 1.193.

VIEW THE QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL LEADERBOARD | PHOTOS

So, for the Quicken Loans National, Woods made an eye-raising switch in his bag, swapping the famed Scotty Cameron Newport 2 for a new TaylorMade TP Black Copper Ardmore 3 mallet putter:

In the first round, the change didn't seem to fix everything. Tiger ended the day at even par, but when he finished play, he was at -1.266 strokes gained putting. That's 1.4 strokes worse than his average this season, and 3.2 strokes behind the round one leader, Andrew Landry.

At the end of the day, here's what Tiger had to say about his putter:

 

After a late rally, @TigerWoods discusses how his new putter felt after 70 in Rd. 1 @QLNational. https://t.co/x0hW89TYZx

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 28, 2018

But Friday, the new flatstick shined. Tiger shot 5-under with seven birdies, and finished with 1.9 strokes gained putting — miles above his season average.

Here are some of the highlights from the day:

There was this beautiful birdie on 10 (his first hole of the day) to get under par:

Grinding.@TigerWoods gets to under par for the first time @QLNational.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/btuIy90sZ8

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

Then this long one on 12:

The new putter seems to be working early on.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/U6V88IxJSs

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

After a monster drive on 15, Tiger had another long birdie look, and drained it:

A 338-yard drive leads to @TigerWoods' 3rd birdie of the day.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/iMShUUeLL1

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

Then there was the 606-yard Par 5 number 2, which Tiger reached in two shots. He left what would have been a phenomenal eagle just short, and tapped in for another birdie:

606-yard par-5?@TigerWoods is going for it in two.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/6goazitaHb

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

He picked up a tricky birdie on the Par-3 third:

Right in the

Another birdie for @TigerWoods.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/0JT9nAE9l0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

And then one final short one the Par-4 No. 5: 

Another one. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/aIZocI6Cgr

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 29, 2018

 

Tiger and his putter shined again on Saturday. He sank four birdies in a row during one stretch and carded six on the day, shooting 2-under par.

The first:

Back to -5.@TigerWoods birdies No. 4.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/j7rHcwdLa0

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2018

The second:

Back-to-back birdies for Tiger.

He's 3 back.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/4WRq54yAwU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2018

Number three:

Tiger has birdied three in a row.

He's 2 shots back.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/HWUWefnwYL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2018

And four:

The early walk... pic.twitter.com/VuUHhVBM6i

— Skratch (@Skratch) June 30, 2018

Tiger rounded out the front nine with this beauty:

Five birdies on the front nine.@TigerWoods goes out in 3-under 32.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/swmPRBM9fk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2018