Tiger Woods has admitted he wasn’t good enough on Thursday as he struggled during the opening day of the US Open.
The golf icon sent fans into a frenzy at Pinehurst by hitting a birdie on his first hole, summoning the magic of old in the process.
But Woods could only register one more and six bogeys as he shot a disappointing 74.
The 48-year-old has now spoken out, with the golf icon complaining about his own performance.
Tiger Woods has complained about his own performance at the US Open on Thursday
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Woods feels he didn’t putt well enough, said he was too ‘conservative’ with some of his shots and also admitted he didn’t hit the ball well enough.
“I didn’t hit my irons particularly well,” he said, per Sky Sports.
“Didn’t putt that great. Drove it on the string all day, just unfortunately I just didn’t capitalise on it.
“I was somewhat conservative in some of my end points.
“Then again, I didn’t hit the ball very well either, so it added up to quite a bit of distance away from the flag.
“It’s not where I wanted to be on a lot of the holes.
“It just ended up being that far away because I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be.”
He added: “My speed was not quite there.
“I think I three-putted – what? – two or three times today. If I clean that up, if I get a couple iron shots not as loose as I did, I’m right there at even par.
“It can go so far the other way here, the wrong way. It’s just so hard to get back.
“This is a golf course that doesn’t give up a whole lot of birdies. It gives up a lot of bogeys and higher.
“I thought I did the one thing I needed to do today, which is drive the ball well. I did that, I just didn’t capitalise on any of it.”
Woods has battled with injuries over the past decade, something that’s prevented him from adding to his legacy.
However, he now appears to be feeling healthy again with the American appearing in his fourth tournament of the year.
And Woods insists he’s feeling good physically, something that bodes well as he looks to rediscover his mojo.
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Tiger Woods says he’s feeling good ‘physically’ despite his issues at the US Open
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“I’m physically getting better as the year has gone on,” he continued.
“I just haven’t been able to play as much because I just don’t want to hurt myself pre (majors), then I won’t be able to play in the major championships.
“It’s pick your poison, right? Play a lot with the potential of not playing, or not playing and fight being not as sharp.”
Rory McIlroy sits at the top of the leaderboard, with the Northern-Irishman shooting 65.
And the Briton was happy with how he performed, saying: “Certainly, the major championships that I’ve won or the ones that I’ve played well at, I’ve always seemed to get off to a good start, and it’s nice to get off to another one.
Tiger Woods trails Rory McIlroy at the US Open
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“It’s nice to see your name at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of a US Open.
“I felt like I played a really solid, controlled round of golf. I just stayed disciplined and, when I got myself in trouble, I took my medicine, two-putted.
“This is the whole thing about a US Open, it’s trying to keep clean scoreboards like this.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not going to keep it bogey free for the rest of the week but it’s not about how many birdies you make, it’s about how many bogeys you don’t make.”