Tiger Woods is in danger of a third consecutive missed cut at a major after admitting he ‘didn’t do a whole lot right’ during an opening round to forget in The 152nd Open.

Woods arrived at Royal Troon having struggled again in the majors this season, finishing last of those who made the cut at The Masters before making early exits at both the PGA Championship and US Open.

The 15-time major champion said ahead of the final men’s major of the year that he would continue to “play as long as I can play and feel like I can still win”, although showed little signs of contending during a eight-over 79 on a breezy Thursday afternoon.

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Woods mixed two birdies with six bogeys and two double-bogeys on the opening day, leaving himself 14 strokes behind early leader Daniel Brown and leaving him with an uphill task to make his first cut at The Open since 2018.

“I didn’t do a whole lot of things right today,” Woods said. “I made that putt on the third hole and then I think I had three three-putts today.

“I didn’t hit my irons very close and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today. I need to shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow to get something going on the weekend.”

Playing alongside Patrick Cantlay and reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele, Woods opened with two-putt pars over the first two holes before draining a 35-footer from off the third green to move into red figures.

A long-range three-putt bogey at the par-five fourth was followed by a double-bogey at the par-three next, with back-to-back blemishes from the seventh seeing Woods limp to the turn in 40.

Woods had to take a drop after a wayward drive into the bushes at the par-four 11th, resulting in another double-bogey six, although he cancelled out a bogey at the 12th by holing from seven feet to birdie the par-four next.

A poor tee shot at the par-three 17th left him converting from six feet to leave the hole with just a bogey, before Woods – who received a standing ovation as he walked to the final green – signed off another day to forget by three-putting from the back fringe at the par-four last.

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“I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year,” Woods insisted. “At the end of last year, it was tough and I haven’t played a whole lot.

“I think that, as the year has gone on, I have gotten better. I just wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve been saving it for the majors just in case I do something pretty major and then take myself out of it.

“Hopefully next year will be a little bit better than this year. I thought I could play a little bit more earlier in the year. I think I was a little bit too optimistic. I need to do a lot more work in the gym and keep progressing like we have.”

Schauffele: Tiger ‘still trying to figure things out’

Schauffele got within three strokes of the lead after an opening-round 69, with the world No 3 believing that Woods is still trying to work out what he his physically capable of around the golf course.

“He hit it pretty solid for the most part,” Schauffele told the media post-round. “He had a couple of bad breaks and hit it in a couple of bad spots. Just happy he’s playing golf.

“He’s only playing major championships. He’s making it as hard on himself as possible and I know he’s hard on himself too. It’s just hard. I think he’s just learning. He’s got to learn a little bit more about his body, what he can and can’t do.

“I’m sure he’d like to prep more at home if his body would allow it. I’m not sure he tells you guys this stuff or not. But as a tour pro now, I kind of know what goes into it and what needs to be done to play at a high level. If your body is not letting you do it, it’s just frustrating. I’m sure he’s trying to figure that out.”

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“But he’s 48 now, his body is shattered and he has played since the age of three… there is no way, at the end of the day, he goes, ‘oh, that was fun, I enjoyed that, what a great experience’. He goes to physio before the round, I bet he’s got another hour and a half after it – it’s got to hurt. And we’ve been seeing it for a couple of years now.

“How much can Tiger withstand when it’s just not going well? It’s just another mighty grind of a day.”

Who will win The 152nd Open? Watch extended coverage this week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Friday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf. 

American talks of ‘maybe shooting something in the mid-60s tomorrow’ but that looks unlikely after dismal day at the Open

Tiger Woods says he has ambitions of getting “something going at the weekend”, but even making the cut now feels close to fantasy for the limping legend, after he recorded a disastrous eight-over-par 79 in the first round at Royal Troon.

READ MORE:Tiger Woods reveals he couldn  sleep after Donald Trump assassination attempt and it was all we watched on flight to The Open

The crowds were out to cheer on the three-time Open champion in the grey of the Scottish ­summer, but there was sympathy and even ­mockery mixed in with the ­standing ovations. Woods looked sore, he looked ­miserable and, most ­importantly, he looked way off the pace as he ­struggled to keep up with the ­contender Xander Schauffele, even in walking around the course.

Woods was frank about the nature of his round, even if his hopes for the next day seemed optimistic. “I had, what, three putts?” he said after ­returning to the clubhouse. “I didn’t hit my iron very close and I didn’t give myself a whole lot of looks today. So maybe shoot something in the mid-60s tomorrow, to get something going on the weekend.”

The 48-year-old finished the day tied for 138th place and while his ­legend suggests anything is ­possible, the experience of watching him labour around the course says a fairytale is unlikely. With ­temperatures hovering at around 16C, Woods spent much of his time trying to keep the muscles of his back and ­shoulders warm and often appeared to be wincing from his movements. He also showed little to no emotion as he made his way around the course; not even frustration, as almost every part of his game let him down.

It all began steadily enough, with a birdie at the par-four 3rd. A 219-yard drive was followed by an approach shot that sat up keenly on the green and Woods tidied up with a calm putt from 12 yards. He later acknowledged, however, that this was the only ­satisfying hole of 18 and he went on to bogey the 4th, the 5th (a double) and then the 7th and 8th too to go out in 40.

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Matters were to improve only marginally on the way back, despite the heavy winds that had disrupted play in the morning having dropped away. A delay at the tee of the 11th seemed to have a particular effect. As the three-ball of Woods, ­Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were forced to stand and wait as a camera tower was ­dismantled to clear the line of sight for Wyndham Clark in the group ahead, you could almost see Woods’s muscles freeze up. His drive went off into the railway, he struggled to pick up his tee and another double bogey followed.

Woods lost another shot at the 12th, then clawed one back at the 13th and for a moment optimism was in the air. Fans were shouting “Big cat!”, before miaowing timorously behind their hands, or “Keep grinding”, then chuckling among themselves. A genuine standing ovation awaited him when he reached the end of his round but by then he had already made bogey on the 17th and he dropped one more in front of the grandstands of the 18th.

Woods said any physical concerns were just due to a lack of ­conditioning. “I’m physically feeling a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year”, he said. “After the end of last year it was tough, and then I haven’t played a whole lot. I think that as the year has gone, I have gotten better. I wish I could have played a little bit more, but I’ve just been saving it for the majors just in case [I injure myself in another tournament] and then take myself out of it.” His fans must hope he has been saving something a little beyond what he has offered so far.

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Tiger Woods revealed he arrived at Royal Troon following a sleepless flight induced by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The 15-time major winner was flying from Florida to Scotland Saturday night for the 152nd Open Championship, which takes place at Royal Troon later this week, when the former President was shot at.

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The 48-year-old 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.’

Trump was left bleeding from his ear after being shot on stage at a rally in a horrific attack by a would-be assassin, later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks.

A barrage of rifle rounds rained down shortly after the former president got up to speak on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding Trump in the ear and killing retired fire chief Corey Comperatore.

Two other supporters were critically injured by stray bullets in the assassination attempt.

Trump was pictured repeatedly pumping his fist with blood dripping from his face while being swarmed by Secret Service agents. Moments later, he was rushed away to safety.

Woods has rarely engaged in politics during his career, preferring to remain publicly apolitical but he did reveal in 2018, during Trump’s term in office, that he had known the former president for a number of years before he took office.

‘I’ve known Donald for a number of years. We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency,’ Woods told New York Times reporter John Branch.

At the time, he was further pressed about his relationship with Trump in light of the Republican candidate’s policies on immigration.

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Well, he’s the President of the United States. You have to respect the office,’ he responded.

Woods also accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2019 at a time when many athletes were shunning invitations to the White House.

However, Woods has also golfed across the aisle as well. He has reportedly hit the fairways with former president Barack Obama, whose election as the first African-American president in 2008 was hailed as ‘incredible’ by the golf legend.

‘I think it’s absolutely incredible,’ Woods told CNBC, per ESPN, at the time. ‘He represents America. He’s multiracial.

‘I was hoping it would happen in my lifetime. My father was hoping it would happen in his lifetime, but he didn’t get to see it. I’m lucky enough to have seen a person of color in the White House…He would have cried. Absolutely. No doubt about it.’

Meanwhile, Woods took center stage Tuesday as he addressed the media ahead of the final major championship of the year where targets a coveted 16th victory.

However, while Woods still believes he has a shot at major triumph, insisting time again that he wouldn’t turn up at a tournament if he didn’t believe he could be competitive, this year’s results 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.

Yet, Woods fixed his glare on those who asked him why we could expect anything different in the coming days on a course that he conceded will ‘eat you up’ if conditions turn.

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‘I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event,’ he said, brusquely.

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.’