Tiger Woods Shoots 4-Over 74 in First Round of 2024 U.S. Open

Tiger Woods got off to a promising start at the 2024 U.S. Open , as the 15-time major champion capitalized at the par-5 10th to birdie his opening hole of the day. Woods followed that up with five consecutive pars and sat 1-under through six holes. The entire golf community was foaming at the mouth early on Thursday morning.

Pinehurst No. 2 would quickly bite back at the 48-year-old however, with the iconic turtle-back green complexes giving him fits down the stretch. Woods' lackluster iron play proved costly, as he hit just nine of 18 greens for the day and recorded five bogeys in a seven-hole stretch to derail his sound start.

"I didn't hit my irons particularly well," Woods said after shooting 4-over 74. "It's hard to get the ball close. In most golf courses you play, you hit shots into where it's feeding off of slopes into flags, whereas collecting. Here everything is repelling. It's just hard to get the ball on top of the shelves."

On the bright side, Woods hit 12 of 14 fairways in the first round, but a costly miss at the par-4 16th hole (his first missed fairway of the day) spiraled his game in the wrong direction. Woods punched out into the fairway short of the green but missed a 20-foot par save for his first bogey of the tournament.

Woods then three-putted from 47 feet at the par-3 17th for his second consecutive bogey, and he proceeded to drop shots at the 1st, 2nd, and 4th holes after making the turn at 1-over.

"It can go so far the other way here, the wrong way," Woods said. "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."

The Jupiter, Florida native took advantage of the second par-5 on the course to get a stroke back but couldn't ride that momentum through the finish.

After another bogey at the par-4 8th hole, Woods carded a 4-over 74 for the round and walked off Pinehurst nine shots back of current leader Patrick Cantlay.

For Woods, Thursday marks his 11th consecutive over-par round in major championships, the longest stretch of his career. The last time 'Big Cat' fired a sub-par round was at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, where he withdrew during the third round.

The three-time U.S. Open winner must put together an improved performance on Friday to avoid missing the cut for the second straight major and fourth time in five appearances in this event.

"If I get a couple iron shots not as loose as I did, I'm right there at even par... I thought I did the one thing I needed to do today, which was drive the ball well. I did that, I just didn't capitalize on any of it."

Follow @OnTapGolf on X for more golf news and updates !