Woods, winless so far this year following an off-season marred by extramarital affairs, bogeys the first two holes and stumbles to a 4-over-par 74.
Tiger Woods was smiling after banging a shot off a TV tower on No. 10 Thursday, but his 4-over 74 on the day was his worst ever at Firestone. AKRON, Ohio — If Tiger Woods was going to shake his inconsistency, it was here, it was now.
No course has been as kind to him. And the fans at Firestone Country Club were ready, in full-on embrace.
"C'mon, Tiger, make it eight!" a fan shouted moments before Woods and Australian Lee Westwood teed off Thursday in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods, winless so far this year following an off-season marred by extramarital affairs, has owned the place, winning seven times in the past 10 years. He's never finished worse than tied for fifth.
But a clunkier start he couldn't have imagined. Woods stumbled out of the gate with back-to-back bogeys and finished 4-over 74. Only eight of the 80 other golfers were worse. The third-ranked Westwood, paired with Woods for today's second round, finished at 1-over 71.
Woods' driver was inconsistent, failing him left early and then right, leaving him next to or behind trees or in adjacent fairways much of the day.
Entering the tournament, Woods had said his irons and putter were giving him trouble, but his drives had come around. And now this.
Instead of pacing the field, he stumbled to a handful of forgettable firsts:
• First time he'd ever begun a round at Firestone with two bogeys.
• First time he's ever made bogey on the par-5 second hole, historically one of the easier holes on the course. (In 36 rounds, he's totaled 30 under for that hole.)
View full sizeMary Nell Wilshire of Suffolk, Va., also known as the "Tiger Lady," manages to smile Thursday despite Tiger Woods' worst round at the World Golf Championships.It was the worst round ever here for Woods, who has shot as low as 62. His previous high was 72 in 2003, when he rebounded to finish second.
The round was especially frustrating, Woods said, because he felt good, warmed up well and felt that his practice sessions at home were solid.
"I just didn't get off to a good start, obviously," he said. "I was 2-over through two. Two easy holes, and from then on, I didn't hit any good putts, either. I was struggling on the greens and didn't hit any good iron shots all day today."
At one point, Woods, who scored six bogeys and just one birdie on each nine, managed par when his second shot on the 10th hit a television tower and landed three feet from the green.
All along, fans showed the love as crowds followed the world's struggling top-ranked player like a rock star under the constant hum of the MetLife blimp. Moms and dads pointed Woods out to their kids. Fans tried to walk along the ropes with him. People shouted encouragement.
"Hang in there, Tiger!" a man shouted after Woods missed a 4-foot putt for par on the 14th hole to slip to 5 over.
When Woods finally sank a birdie putt on hole 17, he tipped his cap and, with a half-smile, bowed three times to the cheering crowd.
"He has changed his demeanor. He's not the brat he was," said fan Cherie McClain of Copley, in a black Tiger Woods ball cap. "He didn't smirk if he didn't like his shot. When he walked off, he acknowledged the crowd. He was more mature. I just love seeing that."
"The only thing I did good today," Woods said, "is I kept my patience out there, grinded all day, and that was the best I could have done today."
No more so than when he walked off the course after his round. The lone insulting voice heard while following Woods' round jarred what otherwise had been a club-wide embrace.
"You're washed up, Tiger. Give it up," a 20-something man snapped at him.
Woods just kept walking.