Tiger Woods has set himself the target of improving by a mammoth 12 shots on his Open Championship first round if he is to make the cut at St Andrews – and provided an update on his physical state.
The three-times champion shot his worst round at the home of golf as a professional – a nightmare six-over-par 78 – to leave himself languishing down the field. And he admitted afterwards he is going to have to match Rory McIlroy’s first round mark on Friday if he is not to be revving up the private jet for an early flight home.
“I’m going to have to shoot 66 tomorrow to have a chance,” said Woods. “Obviously it has been done – guys did it today – and my responsibility tomorrow is to go ahead and do it. I need to do it.
“I didn’t really feel like I hit it that bad but I ended up in bad spots. Or just had some weird things happen. It’s just the way it goes. Links is like that. And this golf course is like that. I had my chances to turn it around and get it rolling the right way and I didn’t do it.”
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“But I’ve played British Opens where they’ve been like that. And it’s up to me to make those adjustments and I didn’t do it.”
St Andrews is Woods’s favourite course and after sitting out the US Open at Brookline last month was determined to make this championship. However, it could not have gone much worse for the 46-year-old.
“This was always on the calendar to hopefully be well enough to play it. And I am. I just didn’t do a very good job of it,” he said.