text: JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- A promising start turned into a shocking disappointment Thursday for Tiger Woods, who made three double bogeys at Atlanta Athletic Club on his way to a 77 during the first round of the PGA Championship. 
   
   Tiger Woods shared the lead at 3-under early Thursday, then struggled to a 77. Daniel Shirey/US Presswire 
   
   The 7-over-par total left Woods tied for 129th place, well behind first-round leader Steve Stricker, who shot a 63, matching a major championship record. 
   
   For Woods, who has won 14 major titles, it was among his worst performances. 
   
   "I'm not down, I'm just very angry right now," Woods said after shooting his highest opening round in a major championship and highest ever at the PGA. "I thought I could play by feel, see the shot, hit the shot. I'm not at that point yet." 
   
   Woods started nicely Thursday morning, rolling in a birdie putt at the 10th hole (his first), then adding birdies at the 12th and 14th holes. At 3-under par through his first five holes, Woods was tied for the early lead. 
   
   But he lost five shots against par on the next four holes, with double bogeys at the 15th and 18th. Tiger added five more bogeys on the front nine, including his third double bogey of the day, at No. 6. 
   
   Woods, who tees off at 1:45 p.m. ET on Friday, is now in danger of seeing his PGA Tour season come to an early end. Woods has never missed the cut in 13 previous PGA Championships, but if he fails to finish among the top 70 and ties, he'll be headed home for the weekend. 
   
   And that means he might not be seen again this year on the PGA Tour. 
   
   Woods, 35, is 129th in FedEx Cup points and needs to be among the top 125 through next week's Wyndham Championship in order to advance to the first of four playoff events in two weeks. ||||| Tiger Woods staggers to an opening 77 at PGA Championship 
   
   JOHNS CREEK, Ga.  One hour after he started, Tiger Woods was atop the leaderboard Thursday at the PGA Championship and felt like the Tiger of old. He never imagined he would end up with his worst score ever in the opening round of a major. 
   
   He opened with three birdies in five holes. He followed with three double bogeys over the next 10 holes. 
   
   Woods started out with his name high on the board, right next to Steve Stricker, who went on to tie a major championship record with 63. He wound up toward the bottom, next to John Daly and 57-year-old Jerry Pate, with a 77. 
   
   It was his highest round in a major since Woods shot an 81 in the vicious wind and pelting rain of Muirfield in the third round of the British Open nine years ago. 
   
   And it was no mystery to him how it all happened. 
   
   "Got off to a great start today, was 3 under early, was having mechanical thoughts through those holes … and I thought, 'I can let it go' and play by instinct and feel," he said. "And it just screwed up my whole round. I'm not at that point where I can do that yet." 
   
   Woods returned to competition last week and completed his first tournament since the Masters, staying away from golf until he was certain that injuries to his left leg would no longer cause him trouble. 
   
   The head — not to mention his swing — still have plenty of work. 
   
   Looking serious as ever when he walked onto the putting green to begin warming up, dressed in a deep coral shirt and blank pants, close to a Sunday look. Then came an 18-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, No. 10, an aggressive 5-wood from a blind shot in the pine straw on the par-5 12th, followed by a bunker shot from a plugged lie to 3 feet for another birdie. 
   
   He hammered a drive more than 300 yards in the air on the 14th, leaving him a wedge to 3 feet for another birdie. 
   
   "He's back!" a fan cried out from behind the green as Woods approached. 
   
   Not quite. 
   
   It was the highest opening round for Woods in any tournament since he shot 79 at the Australian Open in 1996. He is due to play Down Under again in November. At this rate, that might be his next tournament. 
   
   Not since the final round at Bay Hill in 2007 had Woods made at least three double bogeys in one round. He started this carnage with a 4-iron on the 254-yard 15th hole that didn't look awful until it landed, just to the right of the green and into the pond. 
   
   On the 18th, his tee shot flew into the bunker with such force that it buried into the side of the sand, and he did well to get it out sideways to the fairway. But he missed his target by some 30 yards on the next shot, into another bunker, and took another double bogey. 
   
   His final double bogey came from a fairway bunker at No. 6, a shot he knew was bad as soon as he hit it. It landed in the middle of the pound, and then it was a matter of limiting the damage. He finished with a bogey from the bunker. 
   
   Woods was in the sand a dozen times. 
   
   He has talked about going back to his old swing while trying to learn a new one, and he said that was the case Thursday. 
   
   "And that's what's frustrating," Woods said. "I thought I was playing well enough that I don't have to do that. I can just go out and there play and let it go and just play by feel — see the shot, hit the shot, feel it. And I'm not at that point yet. My same motor patterns get in there. I start fighting it and I couldn't get it back." 
   
   Woods might not have much time left. He is No. 129 in the standings for the FedEx Cup playoffs that start in two weeks. If he misses the cut Friday — he has only done that twice in the majors — he would not be eligible for any PGA Tour events for six weeks. 
   
   *** 
   
   Tiger Woods' highest rounds as a pro: 
   
   81: 2002 British Open, third round, Muirfield 
   
   79: 1996 Australian Open, first round, The Australian 
   
   78: 1998 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, third round, Pebble Beach 
   
   78: 1996 Tour Championship, second round, Southern Hills 
   
   77: 2011 PGA Championship, first round, Atlanta Athletic Club 
   
   77: 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, fourth round, Firestone CC 
   
   77: 2002 Buick Invitational, second round, Torrey Pines (South) 
   
   77: 1998 British Open, third round, Royal Birkdale 
   
   77: 1998 Bay Hill Invitational, fourth round, Bay Hill 
   
   77: 1997 Las Vegas Invitational, third round, TPC Summerlin 
   
   Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
   
   Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com
target: – Tiger Woods may be back in the game, but he’s not on his game. Woods suffered his worst round ever at the PGA Championship, struggling to 7-over-par 77. Much of his game was spent in water and on sand, with three double-bogeys and five bogeys, the AP reports. “I'm not down," he said afterward. "I'm really angry right now." The struggle came after a strong start: After the first five holes, Woods was tied for first. But double-bogeys at the 15th, 18th, and 6th holes helped leave him with the fifth-worst score. Now, his PGA Tour season could end tomorrow; it would be the first time he’d ever missed the PGA cut, ESPN notes. (Maybe he's still adjusting to his new caddie?) In front, meanwhile, was Steve Stricker, who ended up 7 under par with birdies at the 15th and 18th.