Golf star was ready to throw club 'in ocean' after nightmare round at The Open

Golf ace Nick Taylor was seriously considering chucking his putter "in the ocean" after a particularly difficult round at Royal Troon.

Last summer, in a moment of triumph at his national open in Canada, Taylor famously hurled his putter sky-high when he nailed a 72-footer to clinch victory. But after a grueling first round at The Open , the 36-year-old thought about tossing it againthis time, not in celebration but out of sheer frustration.

Kicking off with promise, Taylor trudged away from the greens with a disappointing four-over 75, having flubbed numerous putts. The champ of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open is on a mission to snap a streak of eight missed cuts at majors, yet Thursday's showing did little to advance that aim.

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The quadruple PGA Tour victor only sank one out of nine putts and painfully fumbled a shot that could have redeemed his round, muffing a short-range putt. When quizzed later on whether he'd hit the practice green for a few more hours or just rest up for day two, the world No. 39 offered a wry retort and it spelled trouble for his underperforming putter.

He remarked: "I don't know. I might throw my putter in the ocean or go work for three hours. We'll see."

Taylor's frustration was palpable as he reflected on his performance, where the longest putt he managed to sink was a mere five feet from the hole. Post-round, he didn't hide his disappointment, saying it left a "sour taste".

"I would have felt better making that," Taylor admitted. "I got to 3-over with two to play and really -- hit three great shots coming in just to get 1-over. It leaves a sour taste."

Despite the day's setbacks, Taylor remained optimistic about bouncing back as the event progressed, hoping to find his rhythm with the putter. "I fought. I still need to get a good round tomorrow (Friday), again, if I can just roll putt in, see it going in, hopefully get some mojo going in," he expressed.

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Taylor, discussing his troubles with putting, maintained a fighting spirit, suggesting that sinking a few short ones could turn things around. "I don't think I was necessarily hitting a lot of bad putts, yeah, just nothing went on the greens," he commented.

He further noted: "If I can make a few more tomorrow and see the ball going in, but it doesn't want to go in the hole currently."

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods has declared he will be stepping away from competitive golf following a challenging week at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

After failing to make the cut at The Open Championship at Royal Troon, Woods confessed that he will be taking a hiatus from competitive golf following his disappointing performance at Troon.