Tiger Woods is in danger of a third consecutive missed cut at a major after admitting he ‘didn’t do a whole lot right’ during an opening round to forget in The 152nd Open.
Woods arrived at Royal Troon having struggled again in the majors this season, finishing last of those who made the cut at The Masters before making early exits at both the PGA Championship and US Open.
The 15-time major champion said ahead of the final men’s major of the year that he would continue to “play as long as I can play and feel like I can still win”, although showed little signs of contending during a eight-over 79 on a breezy Thursday afternoon.
Woods mixed two birdies with six bogeys and two double-bogeys on the opening day, leaving himself 14 strokes behind early leader Daniel Brown and leaving him with an uphill task to make his first cut at The Open since 2018.
“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said. “I made that putt on the third hole and then I think I had three three-putts today.
Tiger Woods last made the cut at The Open during the 2018 contest at Carnoustie
“I didn’t hit my irons very close and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today. I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend.”
Woods threatens another early exit
Playing alongside Patrick Cantlay and reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele, Woods opened with two-putt pars over the first two holes before draining a 35-footer from off the third green to move into red figures.
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Woods gets his Open Championship underway with a huge birdie putt on the third hole at Royal Troon
A long-range three-putt bogey at the par-five fourth was followed by a double-bogey at the par-three next, with back-to-back blemishes from the seventh seeing Woods limp to the turn in 40.
Woods had to take a drop after a wayward drive into the bushes at the par-four 11th, resulting in another double-bogey six, although he cancelled out a bogey at the 12th by holing from seven feet to birdie the par-four next.
A poor tee shot at the par-three 17th left him converting from six feet to leave the hole with just a bogey, before Woods – who received a standing ovation as he walked to the final green – signed off another day to forget by three-putting from the back fringe at the par-four last.
“I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods insisted. “At the end of last year, it was tough and I haven’t played a whole lot.
“I think that, as the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it.
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Woods finishes eight over par and receives a standing ovation from the Royal Troon crowd when approaching the 18th green
“Hopefully next year will be a little bit better than this year. I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year. I think I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have.”
Schauffele: Tiger ‘still trying to figure things out’
Schauffele got within three strokes of the lead after an opening-round 69, with the world No 3 believing that Woods is still trying to work out what he his physically capable of around the golf course.
“He hit it pretty solid for the most part,” Schauffele told the media post-round. “He had a couple of bad breaks and hit it in a couple of bad spots. Just happy he’s playing golf.
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Xander Schauffele is paired with Woods on Thursday and Friday at The Open and jokes it will be hard to watch his group play with how popular the 15-time major champion is!
“He’s only playing major championships. He’s making it as hard on himself as possible and I know he’s hard on himself too. It’s just hard. I think he’s just learning. He’s got to learn a little bit more about his body, what he can and can’t do.
“I’m sure he’d like to prep more at home if his body would allow it. I’m not sure he tells you guys this stuff or not. But as a tour pro now, I kind of know what goes into it and what needs to be done to play at a high level. If your body is not letting you do it, it’s just frustrating. I’m sure he’s trying to figure that out.”
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Faldo: There is no way Woods is enjoying this
Sir Nick Faldo, speaking about Woods on commentary for Sky Sports, said: “If he is enjoying himself, then fine – it’s his world and his right to do whatever he wants to do.
Woods has played a limited schedule since career-threatening injuries in a car crash in February 2021
“But he’s 48 now, his body is shattered and he has played since the age of three… there is no way, at the end of the day, he goes, ‘oh, that was fun, I enjoyed that, what a great experience’. He goes to physio before the round, I bet he’s got another hour and a half after it – it’s got to hurt. And we’ve been seeing it for a couple of years now.
“How much can Tiger withstand when it’s just not going well? It’s just another mighty grind of a day.”
Who will win The 152nd Open? Watch extended coverage this week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Friday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream The Open and more top sport with NOW.