JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- A promising start turned into a shocking disappointment Thursday for Tiger Woods, who made three double bogeys at Atlanta Athletic Club on his way to a 77 during the first round of the PGA Championship. 
 
 Tiger Woods shared the lead at 3-under early Thursday, then struggled to a 77. Daniel Shirey/US Presswire 
 
 The 7-over-par total left Woods tied for 129th place, well behind first-round leader Steve Stricker, who shot a 63, matching a major championship record. 
 
 For Woods, who has won 14 major titles, it was among his worst performances. 
 
 "I'm not down, I'm just very angry right now," Woods said after shooting his highest opening round in a major championship and highest ever at the PGA. "I thought I could play by feel, see the shot, hit the shot. I'm not at that point yet." 
 
 Woods started nicely Thursday morning, rolling in a birdie putt at the 10th hole (his first), then adding birdies at the 12th and 14th holes. At 3-under par through his first five holes, Woods was tied for the early lead. 
 
 But he lost five shots against par on the next four holes, with double bogeys at the 15th and 18th. Tiger added five more bogeys on the front nine, including his third double bogey of the day, at No. 6. 
 
 Woods, who tees off at 1:45 p.m. ET on Friday, is now in danger of seeing his PGA Tour season come to an early end. Woods has never missed the cut in 13 previous PGA Championships, but if he fails to finish among the top 70 and ties, he'll be headed home for the weekend. 
 
 And that means he might not be seen again this year on the PGA Tour. 
 
 Woods, 35, is 129th in FedEx Cup points and needs to be among the top 125 through next week's Wyndham Championship in order to advance to the first of four playoff events in two weeks. ||||| Tiger Woods staggers to an opening 77 at PGA Championship 
 
 JOHNS CREEK, Ga.  One hour after he started, Tiger Woods was atop the leaderboard Thursday at the PGA Championship and felt like the Tiger of old. He never imagined he would end up with his worst score ever in the opening round of a major. 
 
 He opened with three birdies in five holes. He followed with three double bogeys over the next 10 holes. 
 
 Woods started out with his name high on the board, right next to Steve Stricker, who went on to tie a major championship record with 63. He wound up toward the bottom, next to John Daly and 57-year-old Jerry Pate, with a 77. 
 
 It was his highest round in a major since Woods shot an 81 in the vicious wind and pelting rain of Muirfield in the third round of the British Open nine years ago. 
 
 And it was no mystery to him how it all happened. 
 
 "Got off to a great start today, was 3 under early, was having mechanical thoughts through those holes … and I thought, 'I can let it go' and play by instinct and feel," he said. "And it just screwed up my whole round. I'm not at that point where I can do that yet." 
 
 Woods returned to competition last week and completed his first tournament since the Masters, staying away from golf until he was certain that injuries to his left leg would no longer cause him trouble. 
 
 The head — not to mention his swing — still have plenty of work. 
 
 Looking serious as ever when he walked onto the putting green to begin warming up, dressed in a deep coral shirt and blank pants, close to a Sunday look. Then came an 18-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, No. 10, an aggressive 5-wood from a blind shot in the pine straw on the par-5 12th, followed by a bunker shot from a plugged lie to 3 feet for another birdie. 
 
 He hammered a drive more than 300 yards in the air on the 14th, leaving him a wedge to 3 feet for another birdie. 
 
 "He's back!" a fan cried out from behind the green as Woods approached. 
 
 Not quite. 
 
 It was the highest opening round for Woods in any tournament since he shot 79 at the Australian Open in 1996. He is due to play Down Under again in November. At this rate, that might be his next tournament. 
 
 Not since the final round at Bay Hill in 2007 had Woods made at least three double bogeys in one round. He started this carnage with a 4-iron on the 254-yard 15th hole that didn't look awful until it landed, just to the right of the green and into the pond. 
 
 On the 18th, his tee shot flew into the bunker with such force that it buried into the side of the sand, and he did well to get it out sideways to the fairway. But he missed his target by some 30 yards on the next shot, into another bunker, and took another double bogey. 
 
 His final double bogey came from a fairway bunker at No. 6, a shot he knew was bad as soon as he hit it. It landed in the middle of the pound, and then it was a matter of limiting the damage. He finished with a bogey from the bunker. 
 
 Woods was in the sand a dozen times. 
 
 He has talked about going back to his old swing while trying to learn a new one, and he said that was the case Thursday. 
 
 "And that's what's frustrating," Woods said. "I thought I was playing well enough that I don't have to do that. I can just go out and there play and let it go and just play by feel — see the shot, hit the shot, feel it. And I'm not at that point yet. My same motor patterns get in there. I start fighting it and I couldn't get it back." 
 
 Woods might not have much time left. He is No. 129 in the standings for the FedEx Cup playoffs that start in two weeks. If he misses the cut Friday — he has only done that twice in the majors — he would not be eligible for any PGA Tour events for six weeks. 
 
 *** 
 
 Tiger Woods' highest rounds as a pro: 
 
 81: 2002 British Open, third round, Muirfield 
 
 79: 1996 Australian Open, first round, The Australian 
 
 78: 1998 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, third round, Pebble Beach 
 
 78: 1996 Tour Championship, second round, Southern Hills 
 
 77: 2011 PGA Championship, first round, Atlanta Athletic Club 
 
 77: 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, fourth round, Firestone CC 
 
 77: 2002 Buick Invitational, second round, Torrey Pines (South) 
 
 77: 1998 British Open, third round, Royal Birkdale 
 
 77: 1998 Bay Hill Invitational, fourth round, Bay Hill 
 
 77: 1997 Las Vegas Invitational, third round, TPC Summerlin 
 
 Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
 
 Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com ||||| While Tiger Woods climbed up the Masters leaderboard, 14-year-old Guan Tianlang hoped a one-stroke penalty for slow play didn't keep him from playing on the weekend. 
 
 Dustin Johnson misses a putt on the 15th green for a double bogie on the hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Associated Press) 
 
 Marc Leishman, of Australia, chips to the second green during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (Associated Press) 
 
 Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, wears an Augusta National golf course hat while competing in the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie... (Associated Press) 
 
 Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, talks to his Brian Tam on the first green during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press) 
 
 Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, discusses his shot with caddie Brian Tam on the first fairway during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Darron... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (Associated Press) 
 
 Skier Lindsey Vonn and her physical therapist Lindsay Winninger, left, watch as Tiger Woods tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Dustin Johnson holds up his ball after a birdie on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Associated Press) 
 
 Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, touches fists with his caddie Brian Tam after putting on the third hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Amateur Guan Tianlang, of China, waits to hit on the eighth fairway in the rain during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press) 
 
 Marc Leishman, of Australia, tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament Friday, April 12, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (Associated Press) 
 
 Woods, the world's No. 1 player, and an eighth-grader from China were the dominant storylines on a day when Augusta National reclaimed its bite. 
 
 With scores soaring and several prominent players plummeting, Woods put together a stretch of three birdies in four holes on a blustery Friday to put himself in contention with Fred Couples, Marc Leishman and Jason Day. 
 
 Guan wasn't in contention for the lead, but he was hoping no one pulled too far ahead so he could make the cut. The task got tougher when the youngest player in Masters history was penalized for slow play on the 17th hole, apparently the first such ruling in the tournament's 77-year history. 
 
 "I respect the decision," he said. "This is what they can do." 
 
 Guan needed to be among the top 50 or at least within 10 strokes of the lead to get two more rounds of golf at Augusta National. 
 
 When the decision was announced, the youngster was tied for 54th. Couples, Leishman and Day were tied for the lead at 5 under _ nine strokes ahead of Guan. 
 
 Fred Ridley, the club's competition committee chairman, said Guan's threesome was first warned for being too far behind the group ahead of them at the 10th hole. The teenager went on the clock two holes later _ an official imposes a 40-second time limit to play a stroke _ and gave Guan his first warning at No. 13. 
 
 "In keeping with the applicable rules, he was penalized following his second shot on the 17th hole when he again exceeded the 40-second time limit by a considerable margin," Ridley said in a statement. 
 
 That turned what would have been a par into a bogey. Guan finished at 3-over 75 for the round, giving him a 4-over 148 total. 
 
 Augusta National spokesman Steve Ethun said there were no records of such penalties at the Masters. 
 
 The last player to be penalized for slow play at a major was Gregory Bourdy at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. 
 
 "I know the rules pretty good," Guan said. "But I think my routine was pretty good, too. Just the wind changed. The weather, it was not a good day." 
 
 Woods arrived as the overwhelming favorite to win his fifth green jacket, and he's certainly eager to end the longest drought of his professional career. His last major championships was the 2008 U.S. Open. 
 
 Since then, his marriage ended in scandal, he dealt with numerous injuries, and he struggled to adjust to another swing change. 
 
 But his game _ perhaps his life, too _ have clearly taken a turn for the better. 
 
 With his new girlfriend, Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, cheering from beyond the ropes, Woods opened the tournament with a 70 and kept up his strong play in tougher conditions Friday. He birdied the fifth, seventh and eighth holes to make the turn at 33. A brilliant par save out of the back bunker at the 12th was followed by a tough break at the 15th, when his third shot struck the flagstick and rolled back into the water. But he pulled off a shot from the drop area and salvaged a bogey, leaving him just one shot behind Day and clubhouse leaders Couples and Leishman, both at 5-under 139. 
 
 A rainy morning turned into a sunny, blustery afternoon, which sent scores much higher than they were in the opening round. Guan said it took him longer to judge distances and pick clubs because of the wind. 
 
 Nevertheless, Guan said his first Masters would still be special even if he missed the cut because of the penalty. 
 
 "This is still a wonderful experience for me," he said. "I enjoyed this week so far. I think I did a pretty good job." 
 
 Leishman, a 29-year-old Australian with only one PGA Tour victory, kept up his solid play in the tough conditions, while others skidded down the board. 
 
 They included Sergio Garcia, who was tied with Leishman at the end of the first round after both shot 6-under 66. The Spaniard soared to a 76 that knocked him back, but not out. He was four strokes off the lead. 
 
 Dustin Johnson surged to 7 under and the top spot on the board, before a dismal finish ruined his day. He laid up at the par-5 15th hole, then dunked his third shot in the water, leading to a double-bogey. He bogeyed the 17th and took another double-bogey at the final hole to finish with 76. 
 
 Instead of leading, he was five shots back at 1-under 143. 
 
 Some former champions fared better. 
 
 Couples, playing in his favorite tournament at age 53, birdied the final hole for a 71. Angel Cabrera birdied five of the last six holes, signed for a 69 and was another shot back at 140. 
 
 "It's a hard course out there," Couples said. "I felt very good about what I shot. I had a couple of little hiccups out there and did some other good things to shoot my score. But the golf course is winning today." 
 
 Cabrera actually posted a better score in the tougher conditions than he did Thursday, when he shot 71. He was joined at 4 under by Jim Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70). 
 
 "For me, Augusta is never easy," said Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion. "Never, ever easy. The big difference was that on the back nine, I was hitting very well off the tee, leaving my second shots close, and I was able to make some birdies." 
 
 ___ 
 
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– Tiger Woods may be back in the game, but he’s not on his game. Woods suffered his worst round ever at the PGA Championship, struggling to 7-over-par 77. Much of his game was spent in water and on sand, with three double-bogeys and five bogeys, the AP reports. “I'm not down," he said afterward. "I'm really angry right now." The struggle came after a strong start: After the first five holes, Woods was tied for first. But double-bogeys at the 15th, 18th, and 6th holes helped leave him with the fifth-worst score. Now, his PGA Tour season could end tomorrow; it would be the first time he’d ever missed the PGA cut, ESPN notes. (Maybe he's still adjusting to his new caddie?) In front, meanwhile, was Steve Stricker, who ended up 7 under par with birdies at the 15th and 18th.