Tiger Woods says he deserved a better score than 71 in The Open
Frustration for Woods after level-par effort in first round at Carnoustie
Last Updated: 20/07/18 12:03pm
Tiger Woods felt his quality of play had deserved a better score than the level-par 71 he signed for in the first round of The 147th Open at Carnoustie.
The 42-year-old, playing in The Open for the first time since 2015, finished the day five shots behind early pace-setter Kevin Kisner but was left a little frustrated after parring both the par fives.
Woods missed a short putt for birdie at the sixth and he then found sand as he could only make a five at the 14th, a hole he sandwiched with two bogeys.
The 14-time major winner's other dropped shot came at the 10th after he had turned on two under following birdies at the first and fourth - thanks to two excellent approach shots during a confident start.
Woods also birdied the 11th after that blemish at the 10th, but he said afterwards: "I played better than what the score indicates.
"I had two eight-irons into both par fives today, and I end up with par on both of those. If I just clean up those two holes and play them the way I'm supposed to play them with eight-iron in my hand, I think I'd probably have the best round in the afternoon wave.
"So it certainly could have been a little bit better.
"The guys weren't doing much this afternoon, and I felt like, if I could shoot something in under par today, it would be good.
"I got off to a great start. I birdied one and birdied four, and I was right there. I had an eight-iron to six and looking like I could really do something here. Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out that way."
Woods stuck to his game plan throughout his round and insisted he had never thought about abandoning it.
"I'm just playing to my spots," he said. "And if the wind allows me to be more aggressive, then, obviously, I get it down there.
"But today with the wind coming out of the south, south-east, it didn't allow that. Granted, it did change a little bit out of the west at the end, but it's just hard to control that ball on the green, especially when it's rolling about 100 yards. It's just really hard."
Woods, who has not won a major since 2008, arrived at the course with Kinesio Tape visible on the back of his neck, but he said there was nothing unusual about this.
"[It's] just helping me support my neck a little bit. Makes me feel a little bit more comfortable," he said.
"It's been bugging me for a while. Everyone acts like this is the first time I've been bandaged up. I've been doing this for years. So braces and bandages, just that this time it's actually visible."
