Tiger Woods in horror US Open golf start as he’s outplayed by 15-year-old Cole Hammer

Dustin Johnson shot a first round 65 five-under par and shares the lead
Swede Henrik Stenson carded four birdies in final five holes to tie lead
Rory McIlroy sits seven shots off the lead after carding a two-over 72
Tiger Woods suffered another humiliating round of ten-over par 80
Cole Hammer, 15, impressed during a first round seven-over 77
Masters winner Jordan Spieth is in contention after a round of 68

Published:
03:20 GMT, 19 June 2015

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Updated:
11:05 GMT, 19 June 2015

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Just when you think he can sink no lower, Tiger Woods steps up and plays another round that plumbs new depths. Just when you think there’s nothing left that could possibly leave you feeling shocked, he summons up blows so horrific it’s hard to reconcile they’ve been delivered by the greatest player of his and all but one other generation.

If you can imagine Lionel Messi stepping into the Nou Camp and spending 90 minutes tripping over his own bootlaces, then you get some idea of what it’s like right now being a golfer and watching Tiger.

Ten days on from the most humiliating tournament of his entire career, Woods stepped back into the arena at the 115th United States Open on Thursday – and was even worse. Another week, another career lowlight. In 18 previous appearances in the season’s second major, the 39 year old’s worst score was a 77, and that was delivered when he was just 20. Here he shot 80. He was outscored by 15-year-old Cole Hammer, who shot 77.

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Tiger Woods endured another difficult round of golf and carded 10-over par 80 in the first round of the US Open

Woods lets his frustration show after another wayward tee shot on the eighth hole at Chambers Bay

Woods tries to salvage his round after finding another bunker in another woeful round for the former great

Woods looking up from the bunker was a familiar site throughout the first round on Thursday

Henrik Stenson took a share of the clubhouse lead after a five-under par first round at Chambers Bay

The Swede hits his tee shot from the 17th on his way to carding an impressive 65 opening round

Jordan Spieth played himself into contention with an impressive round of two-under par 68

Illustrating Tiger’s precipitous decline is one salient fact. In his first 1,107 rounds as a pro, he only failed to break 80 once, and that was in a tempest at Muirfield.

Now he has shot three scores in the 80s in 15 rounds this year, including in each of his last two events.

‘Tiger has been lost for a long time and every time he delivers a round like this the hole just gets deeper,’ said Greg Norman on American television.

Plan A has Tiger playing more than usual over the next two months but it is hard to see the point when he’s playing like this. Quite frankly, he is totally embarrassing himself right now.

This on a day when Chambers Bay played far easier than predicted, as the United States Golf Association erred heavily on the side of caution with the set-up.

Two players, Henrik Stenson from Sweden and American Dustin Johnson shot 65. Johnson’s fellow countryman Patrick Reed shot 66. Colin Montgomerie, who will be 52 next week, shot 69. Yet Woods never got remotely to grips with the task at hand.

Cole Hammer, 15, impressed during his maiden US Open round, showing maturity beyond his years

Hammer and his caddie caddie Gregg Hammer (left) walk the ninth hole at Chambers Bay

The 21-year-old is bidding to win back-to-back Majors after winning the Masters back in April

Dustin Johnson, who also finished on five-under, hits a shot on the ninth during an excellent morning

The American looks at the seventh green and adapted well to the conditions on the links course

The spectacular course played far easier than was expected on Thursday, but that did not help Woods

Tiger Woods found himself in trouble as he was deep in the rough on the 8th hole

Woods attempted to clear himself from the rough with a powerful shot out of the rough

But things went from bad to worse for the American as his club flew out of his hands as he played the shot

The club went flying over Woods’ head and he looked bemused for a second before realising what happened

On the 8th he found himself in rough so deep the club flew out of his hands as he played the shot. On the 12th his drive flew so far to the right it finished in a road that no-one ever thought was close to being in play. On the 14th he played three bunker shots on the same hole and finished up by leaving a 3ft putt short for a wretched triple bogey.

Woods is ranked the 195th player in the world but right now there are millions of golfers who can play better than this. Only when all hope of doing anything in this event had gone did Woods summon up a couple of good shots to register his first birdie at the 16th.

Still the suffering was not over. Going for the green in two at the 600 yard par five 18th he cold topped his second shot and the ball finished in the deep bunker known as Chambers Basement. After what had gone before, there was no more appropriate spot for Tiger than the basement.

Woods’s woes dominated the afternoon play as the wind picked up and the already dodgy greens veered into disgraceful territory owing to all the traffic on them.

The experienced Colin Montgomerie played brilliantly for his 69, but hit out at the course after

Phil Mickelson, who is making his 25th appearance in this championship, lines up his putt on the 17th hole

Crowd favourite Mickelson has finished second on a record six occasions at the US Open

Spectators flocked to Chambers Bay but, as Sportsmail pointed out, the course is not fit for purpose

Sergio Garcia slammed the greens at Chambers Bay and said the tournament it ‘deserved better’

On a series of posts on Twitter, Sergio Garcia let rip. ‘I think a championship of the caliber (sic) of the US Open deserves better quality green surfaces than we have this week but maybe I’m wrong,’ he said. ‘If my problem is saying what everyone thinks but they don’t have the guts to say it, then I’m guilty of that for sure.’

Garcia is not wrong. Sportsmail pointed out they were not fit for purpose at the start of the week. And they are only going to get worse.

The one blessed fact is they didn’t really detract from a fine day’s golf, where it was a clear advantage to play before lunch, like Stenson and Johnson. But those with strong minds among the afternoon wave still found a way to get the job done.

If my problem is saying what everyone thinks but they don’t have the guts to say it, then I’m guilty of that for sure

— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) June 18, 2015

Rory McIlroy finished the first round on 72 and must rebound sharply if he is to earn his fifth major

Woods had a tough day as the world No 195 struggled to adapt to conditions in the Pacific Northwest

Take the marquee grouping of Masters champion Jordan Spieth, Australian Jason Day and Englishman Justin Rose. All three had their trials and tribulations during the afternoon but all three reached the clubhouse with their prospects of winning intact.

Spieth had three birdies in a row at one point as he carded an excellent 68. He is trying to become the first golfer since the Masters was formed in 1934 to hold two majors at the same time at the age of just 21. This morning he will have fresh – well, relatively fresh – greens to putt on.

Day matched his 68, while Rose will need a good score on Friday after a poor finish led to a 72. Still, it could have been worse. At the 17th he thinned a bunker shot into a plugged lie and was looking at a double bogey or worse. His response was to play a miracle shot to 3ft so good former US Open champion Corey Pavin, who had some short game himself, called it the best sand shot he had ever seen.