“I laugh because I must not cry,” opined Abraham Lincoln and, after carding his worst-ever round at the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods took a little of Lincoln’s advice.
A dose of wry humor kept Woods, who won his first U.S. Open 15 years ago, smiling after he hit a miserable opening round of 80 at Chambers Bay, Washington.
The American mixed eight bogeys, a triple bogey and a birdie to finish 10 shots off the lead, tied in 152nd place and above just two players, U.S. Open rookie Rich Berberian Jr and world No. 9 Rickie Fowler.
“The bright side is at least I kicked Rickie’s butt today,” Woods told reporters with a nod and a grin.
Fowler, who hit 13-over-par round of 81, was playing in the same group as Woods and South African Louis Oosthuizen, who fared just slightly better with a 77.
“I think we were all just happy to be upright, alive and moving on with the day,” Fowler also joked.
Woods’ shocking opener left a host of commentators searching for the right words to truly capture the awfulness of it.
But the reality is that Woods is trying to keep his head above water in what is turning into his annus horribilis.
Earlier this month, the 39-year-old carded the worst round of his professional career — a 13-over-par 85 — at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.
Woods told reporters at Chambers Bay that he will stick to the plan he’s working on with consultant Chris Como to improve his swing.
“I know when I do it right it feels so easy,” said Woods, a 14-time major winner. “It’s easy to control, easy to hit all my shots, I just need to do it more often and build from there.”
A three-time U.S. Open winner, Woods opened his 2015 campaign on the long links-style Chambers Bay course with a pair of bogeys.
A dismal round was completed when he found the crater-deep bunker at the 18th and then missed a putt to settle for a final bogey.
“It was a tough day,” the American added. “I got off to a bad start. I just couldn’t quite get it turned around.
“I’m trying as hard as I can to do it and for some reason I just can’t get the consistency that I would like to have out there.
“That was my number. I couldn’t grind out any harder than that. So that’s the way I played and unfortunately it’s a high number.”
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and American Dustin Johnson are tied for the lead on five under par after day one.