Former world No1 Tiger Woods, who is currently ranked 220th, will look to avoid yet another unwanted record in this week’s Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.

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A tie for 17th in the Masters has been the sole bright spot for Woods in an otherwise dismal 2015, which has seen the 14-time major winner record three scores in the 80s in his last six tournaments.

The 39-year-old’s career-worst score of 82 in the Waste Management Phoenix Open lasted only until an 85 in the Memorial Tournament last month, which was followed by his worst ever score (80) in a US Open and highest 36-hole total (156) of his professional career at Chambers Bay.

Woods has never missed the cut in consecutive PGA Tour events but did make an early exit the last time he played The Old White TPC in 2012. However, he would be pleased with the way he played his pro-am round yesterday, with a journalist following him tweeting that he hit all 10 fairways and greens in his first 10 holes yesterday and shot a two-under par 32 for his front nine.

“We’ve made a little bit of progress since the last time we played. Obviously that’s not really saying much,” Woods said yesterday.
“I drove it great and made some nice progress since the Open. It’s hard to believe that I wasn’t that far at the Open but I wasn’t. I had some minor injuries that week that I was trying to play through.

“As interesting as that place was, if you missed a shot you could look like an absolute idiot there.”

Woods pointed to a blister on his finger, an injury that first surfaced at the Memorial, when he finished last among the 71 players to make the cut. Woods said the blister hadn’t healed at Chambers Bay, and added that it “still hasn’t really yet”.

But the back injuries that have caused him a lot of agony over the past two years were behind him.

“Obviously, you’re going to have knick-knack things here and there,” he said. “Just the way it is. Main thing is my back is feeling good.”

Speaking about this week’s event, Woods added: “It’s my first time back since the last time I missed the cut here. The golf course is in great shape, the greens are a little bit faster than the last time we played.

“I expect the scores to be very low. We’re going to have to go low, we’re going to have to make a bunch of birdies, keep the pedal down and be aggressive.”

Woods will play the first two rounds alongside former Ryder Cup partner Steve Stricker and Memorial winner David Lingmerth, who defeated Justin Rose in a play-off at Muirfield Village.

One of the highlights of the pro-am was the presence of NBA legend Shaquile O’Neal, who had Lee Trevino as his caddie. The presence of the six-time major champion did not help Shaq much, as he promptly whiffed his opening tee shot, much to the delight of the fans.