Woods downbeat after Portrush misery

Portrush, July 19: Tiger Woods was downbeat after a scrappy opening round at Royal Portrush that effectively ended his hopes of winning The Open.

The 15-time major winner conceded his body let him down as he carded a seven-over 78 on Thursday to sit 12 strokes off the summit.

He cited a lack of mobility after a day in which many of his shots went left of their intended target, making it a miserable outing in Northern Ireland for the Masters champion.

"I didn't do much out there," he admitted. "I hit a lot of missed shots, they were all left. Wasn't hitting it solid. Everything was off the heel. Just trying to scrape it around.

"I'm just not moving as well as I'd like and, unfortunately, you've got to be able to move, and especially under these conditions, shape the golf ball. And I didn't do it.

"It's just the way it is. Just Father Time and some procedures I've had over the time. That's just the way it's going to be."

The 43-year-old revealed in the build-up to the event that he was being much more selective with his schedule in order to extend his playing days.

But he said things did not feel right even before he got going at the Dunluce Links.

"One of the reasons why I'm playing less tournaments this year is that I can hopefully prolong my career, and be out here for a little bit longer," he said.

"My warm-up wasn't very good. I had a hard time moving. And [I was] just trying to piece together a swing that will get me around a golf course."

Woods said he would be going immediately for treatment but insisted he would return to play on Friday.