Tiger Woods Struggles to Make 79 Over Par at Open

TRON, Scotland (Reuters) – Tiger Woods said he didn’t do much right when he shot a 79-over-par in the first round of the 152nd Troon Open at Royal Troon Golf Course on Thursday, leaving him in danger of missing out on a third straight major for only the second time in his career.

Woods, a three-time Claret Jug champion, is tied for 138th after the opening round, 14 strokes behind leader Dan Brown.

Players with the lowest 70 points and a tie will advance to the 36-hole round.

“I didn’t do a lot of things right today,” Woods said. “I hit the third hole (to score), and then I think I hit three threes today. I didn’t hit my irons well, I didn’t give myself a lot of chances today. I need to hit a mid-60s tomorrow to have a good score on the weekend.”

If Woods doesn’t do that, he’ll be in danger of missing out on a third straight major. He wasn’t at the PGA Championship weekend at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, in May or the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina in June.

The only other time he failed to qualify for three consecutive majors was at the U.S. Open, The Open and the PGA Championship in 2015.

Thursday’s round was just Woods’ 10th at a PGA Tour event this season. He has competed in just five official events as he continues to rebuild his strength from injuries he suffered in a car accident in February 2021.

“I feel a lot better physically than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods said. “At the end of last year, it was tough and I didn’t play as much. I think as the year went on, I got better.”

“I wish I could play a little bit longer, but I was saving that for the majors just in case something big happened and then I’d step away from that. Hopefully next year will be a little bit better than this year.”

Woods, playing at the Royal Troon for the first time since 2004, gave the crowd cause for cheers early in the match with a 36-foot putt on the third hole. He didn’t score another shot until he dropped a 7-foot putt on the 13th hole.

There were several missteps between the two shots. After a 6 on the fourth hole, he double-faulted on the fifth hole after hitting his tee shot into a sand hole on the side of the green and had to hit his second shot sideways.

The 15-time major champion had two fouls on holes 7 and 8 and then a double-fault on hole 11. He nearly putted his putt out near the railroad tracks on the right side. Woods found the ball but had to take an unplayable foul and a one-stroke penalty. He needed two putts to reach the green and hit two to make it 6.

Woods, 48, added three more fouls and a birdie on the 13th hole in the rest of the match.

It was only the sixth time in Woods’ career that he has shot 8-over-par or worse in a major tournament, according to data from ESPN Stats & Information. He shot 82-over-par in the third round of the Masters in April.

At the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, Woods indicated he hoped to play one tournament a month, and the Open is likely to be his last official tournament of the year.

“I thought I could play a little bit longer early in the year,” Woods said. “I think I was a little bit optimistic. I need to put in more effort in the gym and continue to progress like we’ve been doing.”