Sergio Garcia led as Tiger Woods' struggles continued at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday. Garcia shot a superb opening round of seven-under par 65 to top the leaderboard by one shot from Chile's Felipe Aguilar and South Africa's George Coetzee.
For Woods, 41, it was a day to forget as he slumped to a birdie-less five-over par 77.
The American world number 666 was among the morning groups to tee off, and from his first hooked drive on the 10th hole, which led to a bogey, it was a relentless but futile search for the former world number one.
He made the turn at three-over par after hitting his third shot into the water on the par-5 18th.
Even though he seemed to be hitting the ball much better on his back nine (the front nine of the Majlis course), he missed four birdie chances and made two further bogeys.
The 14-times major winner shrugged: "Well, I didn't hit the ball very well.
"I left there probably about 16 putts short. I just couldn't get the speed of these things, and consequently, it added up to a pretty high number."