Tiger Woods finishes first round of the Open Championship WAY down the leaderboard as the golf legend shoots eight-over at Royal Troon
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Tiger Woods may claim that a 16th major victory is within the realms of possibility but his eight-over opening round of the Open Championship suggested otherwise.
The 15-time major winner teed off in his British Open alongside fellow Americans Patrick Cantlay and PGA Championship victor Xander Schauffele in his quest to tame Royal Troon at the 152nd Open Championship Thursday.
But the task swiftly transformed into Mission: Impossible as the 48-year-old struggled through yet another round at a major championship.
The Big Cat, a three-time winner of The Open, limped rather than prowled around the links Thursday as weathered a storm of bogeys along with the Ayrshire weather.
Things began optimistically but then again, recently they have, it's the rest of the slog around 18 holes that descends into one big painful grimace.
Tiger Woods carded a catastrophic opening round of eight-over at The Open Championship
Woods fired his opening drive 201 yards off the first tee, finding the first cut of rough on the right side of the fairway.
He came close to an opening birdie, rolling his attempt to within two feet for a tap-in par before eventually entering the red at the third.
But the struggles, which were once a shock but now a customary sight, began at the fourth.
Royal Troon immediately snatched the shot back from Tiger's claws at the fourth where he failed to seize on the par-five opportunity before he sank into the black with a double-bogey five on the par-three fifth.
His mere two birdies were no match for the total of six bogeys, including two consecutive on 17 and 18 to wrap up his round, and two doubles, featuring a trip to the train tracks at 11, as an opening 79 plundered his hopes.
Yet, Woods could perhaps take slight solace in his company at the bottom of the leaderboard in fellow former champions Cameron Smith (+9), Rory McIlroy (+7), and Louis Oosthuizen (+7).
The 48-year-old struggled through yet another round at a major championship
Woods reiterated his aim to tame Troon in his conquest of a 16th major victory earlier this week - something he is adamant his war-torn body can still accomplish.
Yet, the stats spell out a different story. The golf icon missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and the US Open and while he battled through to the weekend at the Masters , he finished in 60th and last place.
However, Woods' message remained the same he's maintained for the past two years: He wouldn't show up unless he believed he had a shot at victory.
And, ahead of this week's tournament, he fixed his glare on those who asked him why we could expect anything different on a course that he conceded will 'eat you up' if conditions turn.
Woods rolled his first putt to within two feet of the pin before tapping in for par at the first
The 15-time major winner entered the red with a birdie at the par-four third
'I'll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event,' he said, brusquely, as he took center stage in front of a packed media center Tuesday.
When asked whether his belief has wavered, he was even more economical with his words. 'No,' came the blunt reply.
Woods has played just nine competitive rounds through 2024 but will still be the main attraction in Ayrshire this week.
'I wish I had a little bit more under my belt but I've been battling some stuff physically,' he said.
'I want to save it for the majors. I don't want to burn myself out pre-major and not be able to play.'
Yet, Woods' preparation for the final major of 2024 had been interrupted by a sleepless night induced by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at the weekend.
He had been flying from Florida to Scotland Saturday night for the Open Championship when the former President was shot at.
The struggles, which were once a shock but now a customary sight, began at the fourth
Despite his recent poor record at majors, the legend remained a top attraction in Ayrshire
He admitted he wasn't as fresh as he would have liked for his first practice round Sunday as he was engrossed by the coverage of the incident rather than catching up on his rest on the flight across the Atlantic.
'I didn't accomplish a lot because I wasn't in the right frame of mind,' Woods told BBC Sport Tuesday.
'It was a long night [because of the assassination attempt] and that's all we watched the entire time on the way over here.
'I didn't sleep at all on the flight, and then we just got on the golf course.'
