Struggles Continue for Woods

It went from Tiger Watch to Tiger un-watchable.

His face described his mood and his scorecard told the story: five bogeys, eight pars, four birdies, 32 putts and a first-round score of three-over 75.

There had been a sense that this might be a breakout week for Tiger Woods, winner of eight major titles but winless since the 2002 U.S. Open.

Woods began the 86th PGA Championship with a new driver in his bag and some momentum, top-10 finishes in his last three tournaments.

After opening with a birdie on No. 10, however, Woods’ day unraveled with a double-bogey 7 on the par-five 11th.

He pulled his first shot into the hay, yanked his second left into the straw, flew his third right into the rough, slashed out from there to 20 feet and three-putted.

Not exactly what he had in mind for an opening salvo.

“I didn’t hit the ball all that poorly, but I sure putted bad,” Woods said. “All of the short putts I missed, and just putted atrociously today.”

The highlight for Woods was driving the green on the 404-yard 14th and two-putting for birdie.

At day’s end, Woods found himself 10 shots behind the leader, Darren Clarke.

Woods knows he missed an opportunity on a day when scoring conditions were almost ideal.

“You can get it going here, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “The greens are soft, the balls are holding and if you’re hitting the ball well, you can get the ball in there close.”

There is a lot riding on Woods’ week.

He has been ranked No. 1 in the world for 331 consecutive weeks, tying Greg Norman’s record.

Woods, however, could lose his ranking this week to either Ernie Els or Vijay Singh.

In one scenario, Els will move to No. 1 if he wins and Woods is not second on his own or tied for second with one or two other players.

Singh takes over the top spot in only one scenario: He wins, Woods misses the cut and Els is not second on his own.

Woods is also in jeopardy of seeing his streak of cuts made end at 127.

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If it was a bad day for Woods, it was a really bad day for John Daly. Playing in the same group with Woods and Singh, Daly shot an 81 and made a quadruple-bogey 8 at the 18th.

Daly, who was hoping to impress U.S. Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton, probably said goodbye to his chances to make the team.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Daly said. “I hung in there. I tried on every shot.

“I would never try to lobby Hal. I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

Daly called Whistling Straits “treacherous” but said his day on the links wasn’t a total loss.

“At least you have good scenery out there.”

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Hail to Hale: The first hole in one scored in competition at 6-year-old Whistling Straits was carded Thursday by 59-year-old Hale Irwin, who used a three-iron to ace the 185-yard seventh hole.

It was the first ace in a PGA Championship since 2001, when Nick Faldo, Scott Hoch and eventual winner David Toms each scored one.

Irwin, who shot a 73, also had a hole in one at the 1975 PGA Championship.