Woods Battles With His Putter To An Opening 75

Tiger Woods matched his highest score at the Players Championship by opening with a three-over-par 75 in difficult, blustery conditions.

Tiger Woods matched his highest score at the Players Championship by opening with a three-over-par 75 in difficult, blustery conditions on Thursday.

Fresh from victory at last week's Wachovia Championship, the world number one three-putted for bogey three times in his last six holes to finish eight strokes off the early pace.

Woods, whose only success here came in 2001, struggled on the greens in gusting winds at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass but was happy with the rest of his game.

"I hit the ball pretty good today but had three three-putts and consequently was three over par," the 31-year-old American told reporters after finishing eight shots behind early leader Rory Sabbatini of South Africa.

"The greens are a little bit tricky to read, different grain out there than we're used to, and I had a tougher time than the guys at the top of the leaderboard."

Woods, who has won three times in six PGA Tour starts this season, reeled off nine consecutive pars after teeing off at the par-four 10th.

Forced to back off shots several times as the winds gusted through the trees at Sawgrass, he missed birdie opportunities from around 11 feet at the second and third.

Woods dropped his first shot of the round after missing the fairway to the left on the par-four fourth and failing to sink a five-foot par putt.

Further bogeys followed at the sixth and the eighth, where he missed from less than four feet to save par.

He then parred the 583-yard ninth to complete his seventh 75 in the event widely regarded as the unofficial fifth major.

Asked what he needed to do to get back into the tournament, Woods replied: "Just keep doing what I did today, stay patient and hit the ball as consistently as I did all day.

"I've just got to make a few more putts.

"I enjoy the test here," added the 12-times major champion who needed 31 putts in the opening round. "You have to place the golf ball correctly. If you don't, there's going to be a consequence for it."