Via TheOpen.com

Tiger Woods’ hopes of success at St Andrews are hanging by a thread after a disastrous start to the 144 TH Open Championship.

The former World No. 1, bidding to win his first Major title since the 2008 US Open, started with four bogies in his first seven holes on his way to posting a 76 that left him languishing near the bottom of the leaderboard.

“I’ve just got to fight, fight through it,” he said. “I know that today was a very benign day and that guys are going to go low. I’m so far back that in order for me to get to Sunday, the conditions will have to be tough, and I’m going to have to put something real solid together.

“Yes, it’s discouraging,” he admitted. “I was a little… angered a little bit.

“I had a great warm-up. I was shaping it well warming-up but didn’t take it to the golf course. That’s just the way it works out at time. My best warm-up I’ve ever had in my career was in Germany. I hit the 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300-yard markers but started off bogey, double bogey. That’s the way it goes.”

Woods’ 76 is his highest opening round in 19 appearances in The Open and marks just the second time he has failed to break 70 in the opening round since 2004 at Royal Troon. To date, he has missed just one cut in a Championship, he has won twice at St Andrews and three times in all. That missed cut came at Turnberry in 2009 where he registered scores of 71 and 74.