Tiger Woods made a dreadful start to his bid to win an 11th major title at the USPGA in New Jersey on Thursday. The world number one and hot pre-event favourite began his round by three-putting the 10th green for bogey.
Unable to find the fairways all day, the 29-year-old then bogeyed the 14th, his fifth, and 18th, his ninth.
He dropped another shot on the fourth and double-bogeyed the seventh before picking up a shot on eighth to get back to five over, eight off the lead.
 |  There's a long way to go and the course is only going to get tougher |
Woods, who came back from an opening 74 to win the Masters in April, said: "I just didn't start off very well and it was a long day. "All day I was grinding, but I stayed as patient as possible and I have three more days to get back into it. I'll go home, relax and put this day behind me.
"But I'm still in the tournament, no doubt about that. There's a long way to go and the course is only going to get tougher."
And first-round co-leader Phil Mickelson was among those who agreed with Woods' prediction that he could still be a factor in the tournament.
"If you're looking for me to shed a tear, it's not going to happen," said Mickelson.
"I believe, as we all do, that come Sunday, his name will find its way up on top there. It will be tough for us to keep him back."
Woods took 35 putts and hit only 6-of-14 fairways, missing six of his first seven, but he scrambled to reach 13-of-18 greens in regulation.
There was also a moment of controversy when he clattered his drive at the par-five 18th into the trees and saw his ball drop within inches of a creek.
But there was no lucky escape as his ball was embedded in the turf, forcing him to take a penalty drop. Woods and his caddie Steve Williams argued that the ball must have been stepped on by a marshall for it to be buried so deep. That would have given him a penalty-free drop.
"They were walking on the hazard line looking for the ball. They didn't know if they walked on my ball or not," Woods said.
"If it hit off a tree it wouldn't have imbedded that far. I don't see how it can ricochet off the tree that far right across the creek and be imbedded that deep."
The American finished runner-up to Michael Campbell at the US Open in June before claiming his second Open title at St Andrews in July.
Campbell, his playing partner at Baltusrol for the first two days, carded a three-over 73.
Woods is one of only two players to have ever won three majors in a calendar year. Ben Hogan did it first in 1953 and Woods matched him in 2000.
MMIX
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