Tiger Woods struggles to 8-over 79 at Open Championship

TROON, Scotland — Tiger Woods said he didn’t do much right while posting an 8-over 79 in the first round of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Course on Thursday, which left him in danger of missing the cut in a third straight major for only the second time in his career.

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

The golfers with the low 70 scores and ties will make the 36-hole cut.

“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said. “I made that putt on the third hole (for birdie), and then I think I had, what, three three-putts today? 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.”

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

The only other time he missed the cut in three consecutive majors was in the U.S. Open, The Open and the PGA Championship in 2015.

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

“I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods said. “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. Hopefully, next year will be a little bit better than this year.”

Woods, playing in a tournament at Royal Troon for the first time since 2004, gave fans something to cheer for early with a 36-foot birdie putt on the third hole. He didn’t make another birdie putt until he dropped a 7-footer on the par-4 13th.

There were plenty of hiccups in between. After a bogey 6 on the fourth hole, he made a double bogey on the par-3 fifth after knocking his tee shot into a greenside bunker and having to hit his second shot out sideways.

The 15-time major champion posted bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 and then another double bogey on the par-4 11th. He nearly sliced his drive out of bounds near the railroad tracks down the right side. Woods found his ball but had to take an unplayable lie and one-stroke penalty. He needed two shots to reach the green and two-putted for 6.

Woods, 48, added three more bogeys and a birdie on the 13th the rest of the way.

It was only the sixth time in Woods’ career that he posted a round of 8 over or worse in a major championship, according to data from ESPN Stats & Information. He carded a 10-over 82 in the third round of the Masters in April.

At the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, Woods had suggested he hoped to play one tournament a month. The Open will probably be his last official event this year.

“I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year,” Woods said. “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.”