Tiger Woods falters, drops F bomb

A world of misery seems to be enveloping the air around Tiger Woods. There was certainly a sense of relief at the sight of Woods alighting at the Valhalla Golf Club with a bagful of equipment but it is all evaporating rather too quickly for the wagons that follow his formidable engine. The man from Florida set sail in the wrong direction and is struggling for relevance after a 74 wrecked his hopes at the PGA Championship.

The good news for Tiger is that he was apparently painless through a full round of golf, which has to be a massive relief after what transpired in the final round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. The bad news was that Woods struggled for much of a non-descript first round, floundering from one hole to the next looking to salvage a decent card.

At the second tee, Tiger hooked his shot and found the hazard protecting the fairway. An ever present bevy of television cameras picked Woods firing the F-bomb. In sheer exasperation, Tiger is said to have screamed out, “for f%$&’s sake” even as he slammed his club at the tee.

The golfing Gods though were in no mood to listen to his foul mouthed outpouring. Back at Valhalla, the site of his famous victory in 2000, Woods was a far cry from his glorious self, trudging through the day like a burdened warrior without the weapons needed for the battle.

Woods pitched for birdie at the 16^th hole, with one of the best shots of the day, but that was little consolation. The 14 time major champion made four bogeys, even as a bemused Phil Mickleson (2-under) kept him company through the first round.

Tiger is nine shots back from the triumvirate of golfers leading the PGA Championship. And he needs a strong recovery on Friday to ensure he does not spend his weekend in the comfort of a lounge some distance from the epicenter of golf this week.

Woods though will also be concerned about the general state of his game. In his fourth start since surgery, Woods is staring at a second missed cut since returning from back surgery.