Tiger Woods stumbles to 4-over 74 in first round of U.S. Open

From there, Woods went into grind mode. He made back-to-back par-saving putts of 10 and nine feet, respectively, on the 12th and 13 holes during a stretch of five straight pars. It was an encouraging start at such a tough golf course, but Pinehurst No. 2 quickly punched back.

Woods' first poor drive of the day led to a bogey on the par-4 16th hole, then he three-putted on the par-3 17th hole to fall to 1-over par. The struggles continued on the par-4 first hole, as Woods three-putted again from 37 feet to record another bogey. He hit a poor approach shot on the par-4 second hole and made his fourth bogey in the span of five holes. Woods made another bogey on the par-4 fourth hole to drop to +4.

Momentum finally shifted when Woods made a stress-free birdie on the par-5 fifth. After two straight pars on No. 6 and No. 7, Woods made a sloppy bogey on the par-4 eighth hole to fall back to +4. He closed out the round with a nifty up and down on the par-3 ninth for a 4-over 74.

The score didn't show it, but Woods was great with his driver in the first round. The 48-year-old hit 12-of-14 fairways and averaged 317.5 yards off the tee, more than 20 yards farther than the current field average of 295.8. The issues were his irons and putter, as Woods lost 2.22 strokes on approach and 0.55 strokes on the green. That's not going to cut it at Pinehurst No. 2.

Woods could still make the cut, but he'll likely have to shoot +1 or better in the second round to have a chance.