Woods struggles with his putting

Tiger Woods played a lot like the guy who didn’t make the cut at the British Open.

Woods shot a one-under-par 71 on Thursday at the Buick Open at Grand Blanc Township, Mich., and finished the first round eight shots behind leader Steve Lowery.

“Probably one of the worst putting days I’ve ever had,” he said. “It was just terrible.”

Tied for 95th, Woods is in danger of missing cuts in consecutive tournaments for the first time as a pro.

“I not only have to play well to make the cut, I got to play well to get myself back in contention,” said the two-time Buick Open champion, whose worst finish in eight previous stops at here was a tie for 11th. “Guys are going to continue to go low. That’s the way the golf course is playing right now.

“It’s going to be 20-plus to win.”

Lowery took advantage of perfect conditions in the morning by tying a course record with a 29 on the front nine and finishing at nine-under 63. John Senden made five consecutive birdies in the morning and finished with nine to end up only a shot off the lead.

U.S. Senior Open

Greg Norman birdied four straight holes on the front nine of the U.S. Senior Open, but a bogey on the final hole at Carmel, Ind., left him in a four-way tie with Joey Sindelar, Dan Forsman and amateur Tim Jackson at six-under 66. Andy Bean and Fulton Allem are one shot back at 67.

Jackson, a real estate developer from Tennessee, broke the record for low score by an amateur at this tournament, and he did it in his senior tour debut at Crooked Stick.

Norman and his senior tour colleagues had no problems playing on a cool, relatively calm day. Those atop the leaderboard made it look easy on the 7,316-yard course, the longest in Senior Open history.

“If you’re going to shoot a low round at the U.S. Senior Open, this is the day,” Forsman said.

Tom Watson, who lost the British Open in a playoff two weeks ago, shot a 71.

Gal leads Women’s British Open

Sandra Gal of Germany shot a three-under 69 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Women’s British Open at Lytham St. Annes, England.

After a nearly six-hour round, Gal was one better than Angela Stanford and Song-Hee Kim. Gal’s best finish was a tie for fifth at the Corning Classic in May..

Michelle Wie coped well to shoot a 73. Paula Creamer had a 74 without a birdie, one shot better than Lorena Ochoa.