Turkish Open: Tiger Woods, crowd and weather are all over the place

World No 1 completed only nine holes on the first day

Tiger Woods reacts to a missed putt on the first day of the Turkish Open on Thursday (GETTY IMAGES)

In Turkey, at least, Tiger Woods might stick to hitting tee shots off bridges. On a weather-beaten first day at the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open Woods completed only ten holes, and on the first nine failed to find a fairway. No traffic traversing the Bosphorus to blame for that.

The thunder and lightning came from an even higher power than him, clattering into Turkey’s southern, Mediterranean coast in the early hours and delaying the start by three hours. It was past 2 o’clock in the afternoon when Woods made his entrance in the final group alongside US Open champion Justin Rose and Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson.

Woods leaked his tee-shot right to set the template for his day. Though he recovered to post an opening birdie, he was unable to advance his score beyond that mark when he walked off the course shortly before 5pm playing the 11th hole. Only five of the 26 groups reached the clubhouse, meaning an early start for the majority of the field  today. 

Though the organisers would prefer it were Woods to feature at the top of the leaderboard, it is not obligatory. That he is in the field is all that matters. His presence triggered all manner of confusion among galleries utterly alien to the protocols of golf. The idea that a rope running parallel with the fairway  might represent a line that forbids the public to cross did not enter their thinking.

Onward the Turkish audience marched, across fairways when players were hitting, to the edge of bunkers and even on to tee boxes to help themselves to water exclusively reserved for players and officials. Capturing the local mood both Ian Poulter and Matteo Manassero sought unconventional means to find relief, the former in a copse between the seventh green and eighth tee, the latter by a tree at the edge of the ninth fairway. It was all going on.

“I thought when we teed off we would be lucky to get in 11 holes and I was pretty spot on,” said Woods. “It just gets dark so quickly. It’s like someone just turned off the light switch.” Woods is facing a 20-yard pitch over a bunker when he returns at 8am to complete 26 holes. “I’m still working on a bit of the rust out of my game but then tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us.”

The clubhouse lead was set by Ricardo Gonzales on six-under par though three players stood at seven under on the course, including Paul Casey. Stenson resumes on four under and Rose on one under. Playing in the group ahead Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter both walked off the 11th green with birdies to reach four under and three under respectively.

“Looking back at my ten and a half holes I probably left a little out there,” Woods said. “So the goal in the holes I have left in the morning is to pick up a few quick birdies.”