Tiger Woods is near the bottom of the Open Championship leaderboard after opening with an 8-over 79 on Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
One quick birdie at No. 3 gave Woods’ fans hope before he played the next nine holes in 8 over par. Woods wrapped up just before 8 p.m. local time 12 shots behind co-leaders Shane Lowry of Ireland and Daniel Brown of England.
A 15-time major champion, Woods will tee off Friday morning while once again striving to make the cut rather than to get into contention for a victory.
Woods’ highlight came early in his round, when he drained a roughly 36-foot putt from off the green over a hard right-to-left slope, delighting the throng behind him.
But after a bogey at No. 4, Woods landed in a pot bunker at the par-3 fifth and had to face away from the green to escape it, leading to a double bogey. He three-putted for bogey at No. 7 and went out in 4-over 40.
At the par-4 11th, Woods’ drive sailed far right near the train tracks, and he had to take an unplayable lie. The ensuing double bogey pushed him to 6 over, and he would bogey the next hole before stroking a 7-foot birdie putt at the 13th to get a shot back.
Woods missed the greens at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th, as he finished with a bogey at both. He finished the day 4-over on Troon’s four par-3 holes.
It’s expected that this is Woods’ final start of the 2024 season, as the 48-year-old has played a limited schedule consisting of majors, the Genesis Invitational (his foundation’s tournament) and some exhibitions since recovering from a serious single-car accident in 2021.
–Field Level Media