Tiger 7 over, Stricker 7 under at PGA

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- Tiger Woods made history yet again Thursday, this time by making double bogeys. He had his worst first round ever in a major, and he did it naturally, playing not by rote but by feel. And in the end, he could feel only one emotion.

"I'm not down. I'm really angry right now," he said after he shot 7-over-par 77 at the PGA Championship, a score all the more unlikely because he was 3 under through his first five holes. Thus, "angry" was the way he described the turnaround, angry at himself. "There's a lot of words I could use beyond that," he said.

Steve Stricker, on the other hand, was at a loss for words after his own historic round. Woods' usual Ryder Cup partner tied the record for lowest score ever in a major with a 63. "I don't know, I haven't given it much thought," he said when he was asked to express his feelings. "I wish I had been able to make that putt to be one better, but 63 is a heck of a start."

It was a heck of a first day at Atlanta Athletic Club, one that portends an interesting finish because it revealed how difficult the final four holes can be. "You're going to see a lot of calamity coming down the stretch," Phil Mickelson said after he shot 71.

The 15th through the 18th represented the pivotal phase for both Woods and Stricker. Each played them as his first nine, having started on No. 10. Stricker played those holes in 2 under. "That's like stealing probably three, four shots on the field there," he said. "It's a tough stretch."

No one knew that better than Woods, who played those four holes in 5 over and never got back on track. He had given his fans hope with a fist-pumping birdie on his first hole, then reached 3 under with birdies on the par-5 12th and the par-4 14th. He took momentum with him to the tee on the tough par-3 15th, which was playing 254 yards. Woods knocked his 4-iron into the pond, took a drop, pitched short and two-putted for five.

He couldn't shake it off. Woods was in two bunkers each on Nos. 16 and 18, making bogey and double bogey, respectively. Three under became 2 over by the turn.

"I was having mechanical thoughts through the [first five] holes," he said, referring to the fundamentals of the new swing he is forming under swing coach Sean Foley. "I figured I was three under, I could start letting it go now and just play by instinct and feel. And it just screwed up my whole round."

It was his worst round ever in the PGA, which he has won four times. Now he must worry about making the cut, not about moving closer to Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.

Stricker, in contrast, is 44 and still seeking his first major. He came within an inch of becoming the first ever to shoot 62 at a major, missing his putt on the ninth, his final hole. He knew 63 is the magic number, although he couldn't name any of the other 22 golfers to have shot it.

"I keep trying to tell myself it's just like any other tournament . . . try tricking myself into thinking there's really nothing extra or different about this event," he said.