Tiger Woods: 'I made so many mistakes' in shooting 76 at British Open

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – He hit his opening tee shot fat.

He sent his second shot into the Burn – and made bogey.

He left his approach 30 yards short on the second hole – and made another bogey. And things didn't get much better.

In another rocky horror show on one of golf's biggest stages, Tiger Woods was woeful Thursday in the first round of the 144th British Open. The former world No. 1, who is now No. 241, made bogeys on his first two holes of the ancient Old Course and added two others before reaching the tee on the eighth hole.

With perfect scoring conditions greeting him for his early morning tee time – little wind off the North Sea, temperatures in the high 50s and a course on the soft side – Woods didn't have any part of his game working and shot a 4-over-par 76 that included just one birdie.

"I made so many mistakes," a dejected Woods said following his round. "I just didn't play well. It was not ideal. … It was just one of those mixed bags.

" … I know that today is a very benign day. Guys are going to go low. Guys have been shooting good numbers. Unfortunately I did not do that. Hopefully the conditions will be tough tomorrow and I can put together a good round and we'll move up the board progressively.

"I'm so far back and the leaderboard is so bunched that in order for me to get in there by Sunday, I'm going to have to have the conditions tough and then obviously put together some really solid rounds. If you shoot some good, solid rounds in tough conditions like that, players can move up the board, and hopefully I'm one of them."

It was another all-too-familiar outing for Woods. Coming off a tie for 32nd in The Greenbrier Classic, where he looked to have turned the corner with his new swing, Woods instead played like he did earlier this year and it seemed pars were small victories.

His 76 was his worst score on the Old Course in four Opens here, two of which he won in 2000 and 2005. Coupled with his rounds of 80-76 at Chambers Bay in the U.S. Open, Woods is 20-over par in his last 54 holes in major championships.

Woods likely will miss the cut in his second consecutive major, a first for him in his career. And it will be his third missed cut in his last four starts in majors.

"No, motivation is never a problem with me. That's never a problem. Discouraging, yeah," Woods said. "I was a little angered."

Paul Azinger, the former PGA champion and 2008 Ryder Cup captain, said on ESPN that Woods "needs a conversation, not another lesson."

"It's hard to watch the greatest player of this generation be a middle of the pack hack," Azinger said. "You almost want to say, 'Who are you and what have you done to Tiger Woods?' … Everyone wanted to swing like Tiger. Except Tiger. … Nobody needs to tell Tiger what to think, they need to remind him to think."

Graeme McDowell, who won the U.S. Open in 2010, is equally shocked.

"I think it speaks volumes about what this game is all about," McDowell said of Woods' struggles. "I'm standing here talking about lacking confidence and belief in what I'm doing. You see a guy like that, whose career highlight reel would take days to watch, and it's tough. It's an amazing game, and I think that's why we have to count ourselves very fortunate that we've had an opportunity to be there on a Sunday afternoon and watch him perform.

"It's a tough old game."

PHOTOS: Thursday at British Open