CHARLOTTE – The day before play opened at the Quail Hollow Championship, Tiger Woods was talking about how much he looks forward to this event each year and how golf was starting to be fun again, like it used to be before all the bad stuff spilled out about his personal life.

He’s not talking about the personal side of things here -- there’s plenty of that on the Internet, and one woman who alleged a relationship with him is performing in a local club – and after his first round, he didn’t have a lot of good things to say about his golf game.

A day earlier, Woods mentioned something about not getting to play courses like Quail Hollow very often and how just being here is a treat. He didn’t take those things back, but Thursday was no walk in the park for the world’s best golfer.

Starting on the 10th tee, Woods opened his round with a birdie and played 10 more holes before he got his next one. Interspersed between those two under-par holes were three bogeys, a double bogey. Just to close it out with some consistency, he finished his round with his fourth bogey of the day.

His 3-over 39 on the back nine was Woods’ highest nine-hole score on the PGA Tour since he posted the same score in the opening round of the 2007 Players Championship, where he finished tied for 37th. It was also his highest nine-hole score in his fifth appearance here.

He was, to be gracious about it, displeased with his effort, though able to restrain himself from the occasional loud outburst of profanity that some criticized him for in his return to the tour almost three weeks ago at the Masters in Augusta, Ga.

“It was a terrible day to begin with,” Woods said a few minutes after finishing his round. “I just didn’t have it today.”

He was in a large group of golfers who had similar sentiments about the first round, which was somewhat unusual in itself. Woods often finds a way to separate himself from the pack, but that can’t be said for his 2-over round of 74 that left him in a cluster of players bunched just inside the Top 100.

“I figured if I got back to even par, I’d only be four or five back of the lead,” Woods said. “Right now, the lead is at 6 (under par) and it looks like second place is at 4. I’m still six back from second place and as of right now, that’s not too bad.”

That was then. Soon thereafter, Bo Van Pelt, who won his first PGA Tour event last year in Milwaukee, toured the course at 7-under with 11 pars and seven birdies to take a three-stroke lead over three players at 4-under.

It got worse. Camilo Villegas checked in with a 5-under round and late in the day Kenny Perry posted a 6-under 66 that included an eagle, six birdies and nine pars to go with two bogeys.

All of that left Woods eight out of second behind Perry, and he’ll open the second round today nine strokes off the lead, facing the possibility of not making the cut for the weekend if he has a round today comparable to Thursday’s struggle.

When he finished, he was so disgusted with his round he didn’t want to think about the game. Somebody asked Woods what he would work on in the afternoon and evening hours.

“Not a damn thing,” he said, forcing a smile at his statement. “I’m just going to hang it up today and come out tomorrow.”

He may make that charge the galleries come to see, but if it happens today, it will be to make the cut. Winning the tournament, at this point, is not up for discussion.