Tiger Woods stood at the third tee, soaking wet from a sudden downpour and frustrated by bogeys on the first two holes of his own tournament in Bethesda, Md.
It didn’t get any better after that.
After a brief rain delay, Woods continued to be a much more gracious host than he had planned. By the time his round was over, he had missed a 2-foot tap-in, hit a man in the face with a drive and tossed his putter in frustration at his bag several times.
His Thursday scorecard at the inaugural AT&T National included seven bogeys in a 3-over-par round of 73, tied for 77th place and seven shots behind five co-leaders: Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi, Joe Ogilvie and Stuart Appleby.
Woods putted 34 times, including three three-putts, and he missed every attempt longer than 8 feet.
“It’s one of the worst putting rounds I have had in years,” Woods said. “I’m going to have to figure out something for (today) because evidently what I’m doing is not even close to being right. I’ve got to fix it. I’ve got to get back in this tournament.”
Meanwhile, 28 players were under par on the 7,204-yard, par-70 Congressional Country Club course that was expected to be a tough test with its high rough and long par 4s.
“There’s a bunch of guys up there right now,” Woods said. “I’ve got three rounds. I can’t get them in one.”
The leaderboard is an eclectic mix of styles, ranging from the long-hitting Singh to older, lay-up players such as 51-year-old Fred Funk and 47-year-old Corey Pavin, both one stroke off the lead.
In the star partnership of Phil Mickelson (74) and Adam Scott (72), Brad Faxon outshone them both, beating might with accuracy with a steady 69, even as his partners consistently outdrove him.
Champions Tour: Eduardo Romero shot a 6-under 66 to grab the lead during the rain-delayed first round of the U.S. Senior Open in Haven, Wis.
Romero’s score tied for the fourth-best opening round in tournament history, and it represented the latest step in a banner summer for Argentine golf. It came less than a month after Romero’s countryman and friend, Angel Cabrera, became the first player from Argentina to win the U.S. Open.
Romero held a three-shot lead over another Argentine, Vicente Fernandez, and a pair of club professionals: Jon Fiedler of Camarillo, Calif. and Ron Vlosich of Lakewood.
Gil Morgan, Loren Roberts, Bruce Vaughan and Jim Woodward, were on the course at 3-under when play was halted because of threatening weather.
Amid thunderstorms and high winds, play was called for the day at 5:15 p.m. MDT.
The 78 players who were unable to finish the round will resume early today.
Romero teed off from the 10th hole Thursday morning, using accurate iron shots to set up back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13. He later rolled in an eagle putt from 50 feet on the par-5 16th hole to go 4 under par and grab the early lead.
Romero made three more birdies, with his only bogey coming on the seventh hole.
