Tiger Woods got his British Open campaign off to a relatively slow start at Muirfield today, a one-under-par 70 leaving him two shots off the early clubhouse lead.
The world No 1 was outscored by partners Shigeki Maruyama of Japan and Justin Rose of England, who both carded 68’s to share the early lead in the clubhouse with a number of other players including Ireland’s Des Smyth.
With the prospect of achieving the third leg of what would be an historic golfing Grand Slam remained firmly intact, Woods said that he was happy with his sub-par round that saw him come up short with a succession of putts.
"Overall, I am very pleased with the way I played," said the 26-year-old. I hit a lot of beautiful putts that just lipped out. It's frustrating but what can you do."
Woods was immediately knee-high in the Scottish rough from his first tee shot. He had taken out a two-iron on the difficult 448-yards, par-four opener where accuracy on to a narrow strip of fairway is the priority.
But after stepping away from the ball on his first attempt to get going after an errant photographer snapped a shot, the 26-year-old Woods then blasted his second way right into the thick stuff that makes the East Lothian course such a tough test.
That brought a gasp from the crowds lining the first fairway and a shake of the head from the world number one.
"I was pissed off more than anything when the cameraman took that picture when I was over the ball which is not the thing to do," he said. "I wasn't as committed second time and consequently hit a poor tee shot."
Woods hacked out his second to 70 yards from the pin, played a beautiful chip and putt brought him a nerve-settling par.
The conditions remained ideal for low scores with hazy sunshine and just the hint of sea breeze, but Woods continued to squander reasonable birdie chances as the putter let him down again and again.
Alongside him, Rose, who is being touted as the next Nick Faldo, looked impressive with birdies at the second and third to join the early pace-setters on the leaderboard. Maruyama soon followed suit. Scotland’s Sandy Lyle and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn also posted 68’s to join a log-jammed leaderboard.
Playing in the first group of the day, Smyth had started with a bogey but rallied well to pick up four birdies, two on each nine, the fifth and sixth and the 11th and 17th for his 68.
"This is a very fair test of golf and if you play nice and steady like I did today, then you get rewarded for patience," said Smyth who tied for 13th place at Royal Lytham last year. Considering his opening round 12 months ago was a 74, things auger well after today's round.
Padraig Harrington, as ever, was only a shot behind after carding a two-under 69. The Dubliner has been the model of consistency, part of which gained him top 10 finishes in the first two majors of the season.
Earlier Paul McGinley closed with a one-over 72 while the fourth Irishman Darren Clarke was also one-over after four holes played.
additional reporting by PA