Tough day for favourite Tiger Woods

Forget domination. For Tiger Woods, the opening round of the Masters was about survival.

The greatest golfer on the planet shot his highest score in nearly a year Thursday, a 3-over 75 that included his first triple-bogey since November. He even found himself behind a couple of guys in their 60s.

Yet, Woods didn't seem the least bit upset after his wind-blown round at Augusta National. Showing maturity beyond his 24 years, he even managed a ``What, me worry?'' smile at No. 17 when a short putt skidded wide of the cup.

``I was just hanging in there, trying to make a bunch of pars,'' he said. ``I feel pleased with the way I hung in there. I was grinding it out.''

Woods knew what kind of day he was in for as he stood above his tee shot at No. 4. Three times, he flicked grass into the air, trying to gauge the direction of the wind. Each time, the blades fluttered in a different direction.

``It's not easy out there. Look at the scores,'' said Woods, glancing at the board showing only nine of the 95 players under par. ``That's a great indicator to tell you that it's not easy out there.''

Woods came to Augusta as a heavy favorite to win his second green jacket. Instead, he began today's second round spotting seven shots to surprise leader Dennis Paulson.

Woods had a three-putt double-bogey at 10 -- and that wasn't even his worst hole of the day. The nadir came at 12, the picturesque par-3 in the heart of Amen Corner.

With 135 yards to the front edge of the green, Woods pulled an 8-iron out of the bag and hit what he thought was a solid shot. Instead, the ball landed just short of the right bunker and made a beeline for Rae's Creek, the tranquil body of water that has swallowed up so many hopes and dreams over the years.

After taking his stroke penalty, Woods cleared the water with his third shot to about 12 feet past the hole.

From there, he three-putted on the lightning-quick green for his first triple-bogey since the final round of the World Golf Championship at Valderrama on Nov. 7 -- an amazing streak of consistency that stretched 541 holes.

``I thought I hit a pretty good shot,'' Woods said of his first swing at 12. ``The wind just stood it up a little bit.''

In all but one of his seven PGA Tour events this year, Woods has finished first or second. He already has piled up more than $3.2 million in earnings and prompted some golfers to moan that they are merely hoping to be a runner-up anytime there's a Tiger in the field.

But Augusta has a way of evening the competition.

Since Woods put up a record-setting, 18-under 270 three years ago to win the Masters, he has yet to break 70. The 75 matched his final-round score a year ago, meaning he is 6 over for his last two trips around the hallowed grounds. In between, he went 68 rounds without shooting that high.

Woods also found himself trailing 63-year-old Tommy Aaron (72) and 60-year-old Jack Nicklaus (74).

``This was probably one of the most difficult days I've seen here, no doubt about it,'' Woods said. ``I haven't been coming that long, but from what I've seen, this golf course is playing difficult. The wind is swirling and blowing, it's gusting and calm. It's not easy to putt either. The wind's moving the ball and there a lot of grain on the green. It makes for a very difficult day.''

He knew things could have been much worse. Woods bounced back with birdies at 13 and 16, backing up the words he relayed to caddie Steve Williams as they walked from the disastrous 12th hole.

``If we can just get to 2-over par or 3-over par, we're fine,'' Woods told Williams. ``We'll just keep plugging along and making the putts when we can.''

Again, this was all about survival.

``It's not a great start, but it's not bad either,'' Woods said. ``I'm right in the ballgame.''