Tiger struggles to 6-over 78 in Round 1 at 150th Open Championship

It doesn't appear the golfing world will get the storybook ending of Tiger Woods winning the 150th Open Championship this week at St. Andrews.

The 15-time major champion struggled to dial in his distance throughout the round Thursday, constantly leaving himself in tricky spots around the green en route to a 6-over 78. The score is Woods' worst in his professional career at the Old Course and sees him tied for 144th after 18 holes.

Woods, who has won twice at the Old Course, played catchup from the beginning after finding the water in front of the first green on his approach from a sand-filled divot. He would pitch on and miss a 3-footer for bogey to start at 2-over.

His struggles continued with two bogeys and another double across the next seven holes before a birdie on the ninth saw him finish the outward half with a 5-over 41.

"Yes, I did have bad speed on the greens, but I didn't really feel like I hit it that bad. … I had my chances to turn it around and get it rolling the right way, and I didn't do it," Woods said after the round.

Woods birdied No. 10 to get some positive vibes going but immediately lost the momentum with three bogeys over a six-hole stretch from Nos. 11 to 16.

Despite the poor score, Woods looked significantly better walking the course than he did at the Masters or the PGA Championship, and he drove the ball well throughout the round. Unfortunately, poor approach play and a balky putter made it impossible for him to take advantage.

"I compounded problems with my bad speed on the greens," Woods admitted. "I hit the ball in the correct spots a couple times - leave myself some good lag putts at the correct angles, and I messed those up. When I had opportunities to make a few putts, I missed them."

Woods faces an uphill battle to avoid missing his second straight cut at St. Andrews after he missed the weekend in 2015. He tees off for his second round at 3:58 a.m. ET Friday.