The 15-time major winner endured a tough opening day at The Open and recorded one of his highest-ever scores as a professional.
William GittinsWillGittUpdate: Jul 19th, 2024 08:23 EDT0
PAUL ELLISAFP
Few gave Tiger Woods much chance of competing at the top of the leaderboard at The Open and his first round struggles at Royal Troon only served to strengthen that idea.
In tricky conditions in South Ayrshire, Woods shot a 79 on Thursday, leaving him with a lot of work to do to make the cut at the end of Friday’s play. He ended the first day eight-over, including back-to-back double bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes.
“I didn’t do a lot of things right today,” Woods said after the end of day one. “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.”
Tiger scores his first birdie of the day at the long 6th hole. pic.twitter.com/NMSSNPCMdv
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2024
Tiger Woods’ worst-ever tournament round
Thursday’s 79 was a disappointing performance for Woods just days after he’d faced criticism from Colin Montgomery, who suggested that the 15-time major winner was now unlikely to win another.
Woods has shot round of 80 or more just six times in his professional career, the worst of which came at the Memorial Tournament in 2015. He shot 85 on day three at Muirfield Village Golf Club, including a quadruple bogey on the final hole. To make matters worse, Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley both shot 65 in the same conditions.
Tiger Woods' worst career rounds
85 – Memorial Tournament (2015), third round82 – Masters (2024), third round82 – Waste Management Phoenix Open (2015), second round81 – British Open (2002), third round80 – U.S. Open (2015), first round80 – Nestle Invitational (1994), first round
