Tiger Has Troubles, But Is In The Hunt

Tiger Woods was mad, and not just at the photographers who bothered him on the first hole. After a day of frustration on the greens at the Muirfield links, he knew he would have to putt better to have a chance at golf's Grand Slam.

Battling a balky putter and greens slower than he expected, Woods shot a 1-under 70 Thursday to begin his bid for a third straight major championship.

On a day that was ripe for scoring, though, it wasn't a score that pleased the world's best player. It wasn't even the best score in his group, with playing partners Justin Rose and Shigeki Maruyama both two shots better.

Woods finished three strokes behind co-leaders David Toms, Duffy Waldorf and Carl Pettersson.

Woods tried to put his best spin on a round where he took 33 putts.

"It is frustrating, yes, but it's OK," Woods said. "Sometimes they just don't go in. But if you keep hitting good putts like I did today, they'll eventually start going in."

Toms did not have the putting problems that hampered Woods' performance.

Tough to beat when he gets the flat stick going, Toms rolled in three birdie putts of at least 15 feet, and joined the leaders with a two-putt birdie from 120 feet on the par-5 17th.

"For the most part, I stayed out of the rough," Toms said. "When I had a chance to try to get a shot close from the fairway, I took that chance and capitalized. Other than that, it was a boring round."

Pettersson had the lead to himself until a bogey on the final hole. Waldorf finished off his round with a 5-iron into 18 feet on the 18th for another strong start at Muirfield. He opened with a 69 in the '92 British Open.

Waldorf, best known for his colorful shirts, wore a blue floral pattern on Thursday. He said he took no offense when told that a British writer suggested earlier in the week that "a Duffy Waldorf will not win at Muirfield."

"I just kept playing down the fairway, fortunately, and took advantage of the opportunities I got," Waldorf said.

It was Woods, as usual, who drew the huge crowds as he got off to a shaky start in his bid to maintain his Grand Slam run.

A photographer who clicked his camera forced Woods to back off his opening tee shot. When Woods did hit the ball, it went 20 yards right of the fairway into the knee-deep heather.

Woods clearly was irritated and spoke to the photographers who jostled for position behind him as he tried to hit it out of the rough.

"You guys got enough friggin' pictures already?" he asked. "You did it on the tee and you're doing it now."

Woods regained his composure and somehow slashed the ball out of the deep rough into the fairway some 100 yards from the green. From there, he hit a wedge to 10 feet and made the putt for par.

It would be one of the few bright moments for Woods on the greens, where he missed a number of makable birdie putts within 15 feet and 3-putted for bogey on the fifth hole.

Despite hitting three tee shots into the heather, Woods reached 14 greens in regulation, but could not take advantage of his birdie opportunities.

"We're not used to playing greens this slow," he said.

On a calm day where the sun occasionally peeked out and scoring conditions were ideal, Muirfield showed it would not be too easy. Players battled their way out of the rough and bunkers, with Sergio Garcia needing two shots to get out of one pot bunker.

The 68s turned in by Rose and Maruyama tied them with 1985 winner Sandy Lyle, Thomas Bjorn, Des Smyth of Ireland, and Jean Francois Remesy of France.

It was clear early that this Open would be far different from the U.S. Open that Woods won last month to take his second major of the year.

Instead of the boisterous crowds yelling comments at players, the fans at Muirfield offered only polite applause. When Woods hit his shot out of the heather on the first hole, one fan murmured, "Lovely shot."

The surprises of the early play were the 44-year-old Lyle and Smyth, a 49-year-old who is playing in his 22nd Open.

Lyle birdied the last three holes, while Smyth left a birdie putt short on the final hole for his chance at the lead.

"I love playing in the Open. I always did," Smyth said. "Maybe I am not as afraid as I might have been in years gone by."

One of Woods' main challengers, Phil Mickelson, had an afternoon tee time and was forced to wait while Woods made his way around the course.

Mickelson didn't seem bothered though and shot a 3-under 68 and is one shot back.