Back in his heyday, Tiger Woods was dominant on the golf course and serious off it. Boy, how times have changed.
Woods shot a 10-over-par 80 at the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, his fourth-worst round ever as a pro. It was a pretty ugly performance that belied his air of confidence heading into the tournament. After the round, however, Woods didn’t exactly sound like a man who was in second-to-last place and in danger of missing the cut.
“The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie’s butt today,” he joked to reporters after the round, via The New York Times.
That’d be his playing partner, Rickie Fowler, who somehow finished worse than Tiger at an 11-over 81. Woods obviously wasn’t pleased with his rough outing, but his joke set the tone for what was a relatively positive session with reporters.
“It was a tough day,” he said. “Got off to a bad start and just couldn’t quite get it turned around. It’s one of those things that I’ve just got to work through.
“I’m trying as hard as I can to do it, and for some reason I just can’t get the consistency that I’d like to have out there.”
Woods isn’t kidding. Prior to Thursday’s debacle, 39-year-old finished in dead last at the Memorial Tournament after shooting a career-worst 85 on Saturday.
The man who has won 14 major championships seems like a distant relative at this point, but Tiger says he’s not giving up heading into Round 2.
“Keep working,” he said. “Keep grinding and keep working.”
Thumbnail photo via Ted S. Warren/USA TODAY Sports Images
