Tiger Woods already in danger of missing cut at Torrey Pines

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Tiger Woods struggled in his first competitive round on the PGA Tour since August 2015, shooting a 4-over 76 on the South Course at Torrey Pines near San Diego that has him in danger of missing the cut at a place he’s won eight times as a professional.

Woods, playing alongside world No. 1 Jason Day and reigning U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, bogeyed the first hole out of the gate, something that has become more commonplace for the 14-time major winner in recent years. He could be forgiven in this case, as Torrey South’s opener is one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour.

From there, Woods made eight consecutive pars to turn in 1-over par, largely saved by his short game, which showed flashes of his former, dominant self.

However, it was also clear playing alongside Day and Johnson that Woods will have to reinvent himself as a golfer, no longer smashing the ball miles past his opponents. It was no more evident than on the par-5 ninth hole, a 602-yard beast that is a challenge for most pros to reach in two shots. Not so for Day and Johnson, who both had eagle putts after two mighty whacks to reach the green. Woods? Not in the bag. Despite a 300-yard drive, Woods chose to lay up and played for birdie, settling for par when his 19-footer didn’t sniff the hole.

After the turn, Woods played his two best holes of the day at Nos. 10 and 11, making them look simple with a pair of 10-foot birdie putts. It was then that it seemed Woods might be finding something, but it turned out to be a false flag, as Woods bogeyed the next three holes after errant tee shots left him to gouge from nasty lies. On the par-4 15th, Woods pulled his tee shot left and into a hazard that forced a penalty stroke, leading to a double-bogey 6 that could have been worse.

Tiger Woods hits out of a bunker on the 17th hole. (AP)

Following a failed up-and-down bid from the green-side bunker on 17 to drop to 5-over par on the round, Woods came to the par-5 18th, the hole he birdied in the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate, needing some kind of positive to carry into Friday’s round. He got it, sticking his third shot to nine feet before converting a closing birdie.

All told, 76 is not good. At 4-over par, he trails leader Justin Rose by 11 shots heading into the second round. Fortunately, Woods goes to the easier, renovated North Course, where Rose played on Thursday. Tiger should have more opportunities for birdies in theory, but if his driving game is as off Friday as it was Thursday, those chances will be rare. Woods will need a round in the 67-68 range to get to the weekend.

While he showed flashes of that potential on Thursday, he could have easily turned in a higher number than 76.

It’s a work in progress.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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