Tiger Woods denies injury as he fights to make cut at Dubai Desert Classic
Former world No1 Tiger Woods insisted he was not struggling with injury after a birdie-free opening round at the Dubai Desert Classic left him in danger of missing the cut.
Woods, who also missed the cut at Torrey Pines last week, carded a five-over-par 77 at Emirates Golf Club to trail leader Sergio Garcia by 12 shots.
The 14-time Major winner appeared to be in discomfort at various stages during the round, his first on the European Tour following a 15-month absence due to a back injury.
“No, I wasn’t in pain at all,” said the 41-year-old. “I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job. At the end I finally hit some good ones but the damage had already been done.
“On top of that, I could have hung in there, I could have shot something near even par if I would have made some putts, but I made nothing. The last two drives I hit off eight and nine, there was something different.”
Garcia led by one stroke from Chile’s Felipe Aguiar and George Coetzee of South Africa. England’s Ian Poulter was a further shot back after carding a 67.