Tiger Woods got his quest for a hat-trick of Open Championship wins off to a solid start on Thursday, carding a two-under 69 in the first round.
The world number one looked comfortable despite the early morning chill and damp that saw him keep a light jacket on for the front nine and pull on thick gloves between shots to keep his hands dry and warm.
He went out in three-under 33 thanks to an eagle at the par five fifth when he hit a tremendous second shot to 12 feet from the pin.
He dropped shots at the 12th and 13th, missing 12-foot putts on both occasions, but a monster putt for birdie at the par-three 16th brought the smile back to his face as he completed the tough three final holes in one under par.
”That was successful today [Thursday],” was his verdict. ”It was tough starting out but then it warmed up a bit so it was not so bad.
”The back nine is really tough and you just have to hit some good shots.
”Overall to play the last three holes in one under par, I will take that any day.
As usual, the 31-year-old American has much at stake here this week.
A win would make him the first man since Australian Peter Thomson in 1956 to record a hat-trick of Open wins and it would take his career haul of Majors to 13, five short of golf’s Holy Grail, the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus.
If he fails, it would mean he is in danger of going winless in Majors for the year for the first time since 2004.
That would spark a new round of speculation over whether his dominance is under threat, especially as he has a new priority in his life with the birth last month of daughter Sam Alexis.
Last year, the American was in imperious form in the sunshine at Hoylake, using irons off the tee for most of the way to carve out back-to-back Open wins.
But he is well aware of the dangers can lurk around the corner on Scotland’s east coast where sunny summer skies can dissolve into wintry-like showers at the drop of a hat.
Five years ago at Muirfield, east of Edinburgh, Woods was handily placed after opening rounds of 70 and 68 only to be blown away in the third round when the start of his round coincided with a rain storm sweeping in off the North Sea.
That day he limped in with an 81 that remains to this day the worst score he has recorded in his professional career.
But traditionalist at heart, he has made it clear that the British Open remains his favourite of the four Majors and one day he will no doubt target the record of six wins set by Englishman Harry Vardon from 1896 to 1914. — AFP
