Tiger Woods can only scratch his head after what he said was one of his worst putting days Thursday at the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Mich. Woods carded a first-round score of 1-under 71.

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Tiger Woods had a chance to make up for an awful day at the Buick Open.

Problem is, Woods wasn't the only one with a shot to take advantage of one of the easier courses on the PGA Tour.

Woods started this morning 1 under — eight shots behind first-round leader Steve Lowery — after his putter let him down just as it did at the British Open.

"I'm going to have to take advantage of the holes you're supposed to take advantage of, par 5s, couple short par 4s," he said. "I'll handle those and sprinkle a few more here or there and I'll come up with the number I need to come up with."

If Woods has another lackluster round, he'll put himself in danger of missing cuts in consecutive tournaments for the first time as a pro. The cut at Warwick Hills is usually 3 or 4 under.

"I not only have to play well to make the cut, I got to play well to get myself back in contention," said the two-time Buick Open champion, whose worst finish in eight previous stops at here was a tie for 11th. "Guys are going to continue to go low. That's the way the golf course is playing right now.

"It's going to be 20-plus to win."

It usually is. The average winning score has been almost 21 under par since 2000 at Warwick Hills, one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour.

Lowery took advantage of perfect conditions Thursday morning — smooth, receptive greens and calm winds — by tying a course record with a 29 on the front nine and finishing 9-under 63.

John Senden also did, making five straight birdies in the morning and finishing with nine to end up only a shot off the lead.

Y.E. Yang, James Nitties, Vaughn Taylor, and Brian Vranesh shot 65s on Thursday, leaving them two strokes back.

Playing for the first time since flopping at Turnberry, Woods finished the first round tied for 128th on putts inside 10 feet.

"Probably one of the worst putting days I've ever had," he said. "It was just terrible."

Two weeks ago in the British Open, Woods was 7 over during a six-hole stretch and ended up missing a cut for the first time in three years.