It has been a season of “worsts” for Tiger Woods.
Nothing changed Thursday at the U.S. Open.
Woods, a man searching for answers, found none during the first round of the U.S. Open. He was battered and bruised by the unforgiving Chambers Bay layout and staggered in with a 10-over par 80, his worst-ever score in this major championship that he has won three times.
“I hate to watch this,” said Fox analyst Tom Weiskopf, as he saw Woods struggle all day.
“Every time he plays a round like this, the hole just gets deeper and deeper,” said Greg Norman, lead analyst for the broadcast. “What’s amazing is how quickly it has happened,” Norman continued.
Woods’ misery came to a climax at the final hole, the par five 18th when he cold topped a three-wood second shot that wound up in the bottomless pot bunker called “Chambers Bay Basement.” It led to a final bogey and a snowman 80 on Woods’ scorecard.
Woods wasn’t the worst scorer in his threesome. He played with Louis Oosthuizen and Rickie Fowler. Fowler ballooned to an 81. Oosthuizen was the medalist in the troubled threesome with a 77.
“It was a tough day,” Woods lamented after his round. “I got off to a bad start. It was just one of those things. I just gotta work through it,” he said.
Woods managed to keep a sense of humor as he concluded: “Hey, I kicked Rickie’s butt out there,” referring to playing partner Fowler and his 81.
