Ian Poulter has birdied all of the par 5s on the TPC Sawgrass for a 7-under 65 and the early lead at The Players Championship Thursday. Poulter ran off four straight birdies around the turn — two of them on par 5s — and wound up with a one-shot lead over Blake Adams among the early starters on a warm day. Tiger Woods stumbled to a two-over par 74 in his opening round. Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, opened on the 10th hole with a bogey, finding a greenside bunker and coming up short on a 10-foot par putt. The former World No. 1, now seventh in the rankings, answered with a birdie from nine feet at the par-3 13th and responded to saving a bogey from 30 feet at the par-4 15th with a 13-foot birdie at the infamous island green 17th hole. But Woods staggered around the turn with bogeys at the 18th and first and a birdie at the par-5 second negated by a bogey at the par-3 third before he righted the ship and parred his way back to the clubhouse from there. “It wasn't certainly the most positive start,” Woods said. “Any kind of momentum that I would build, I would shoot myself in the foot on the very next hole. Just one of those days. “I didn't get a lot out of that round. It should have been probably 1- or 2-under par.” Woods, who once mastered the par-5 holes with long drives and deadly putting, managed one birdie and three pars on them at the TPC Sawgrass course in round one. “I don't know. For some reason it has just been one of those weird deals,” Woods said. “Out here you have to take care of the par-5s. I haven't done a very good job of it lately. I certainly need to do a better job of that.” The 36-year-old star, who snapped a 17-month win drought with a victory at Bay Hill in March, came to the Players after his eighth career missed cut at Quail Hollow and was in danger of failing to reach the weekend once again. Woods won the 2001 Players but has struggled at the course in recent years, withdrawing last year after nine holes with left knee pain and in 2010 he withdrew with 12 holes remaining in the final round due to a neck injury. This time, Woods was fit but unable to post a score among the leaders. “I just didn't score. I hit decent shots in there and just got some of the worst lies,” Woods said.
