Saturday 20 June 2015 00:49, UK
Butch Harmon admitted that Tiger Woods' performance on the opening day of the US Open was "tough to watch" and urged the former world No 1 to take more time off to get his game back into shape.
Woods hacked his way to a humiliating 10-over 80 in the first round as his all-round game capitulated, marking his worst-ever round in a US Open as well as being the third time in six events this year he has failed to break 80.
His round was summed up at the par-five last, where he went for the green in two but completely topped a three-wood which sent his ball scurrying along the ground and into a pot bunker.
The Woods card featured eight bogeys, one triple-bogey and a solitary birdie at the 16th. He could not reverse the damage on Friday and ended up missing the cut at Chambers Bay.
"It's tough to watch," said Sky Sports analyst Harmon, who coached Woods to the first eight of his 14 major titles. "We were trying to think what we could compare it to and my son Claude had the best analogy. It's like going to Wimbledon and watching Roger Federer not be able to hit the ball over the net.
"It's kind of sad to be honest with you. I am not sure any of us has the answer. He looks like a lost soul out there. We hope he would go home and take some time off and don't come back until you are 100 per cent ready to play.
"He is not playing a lot of tournaments and the ones he turns up to play are the biggest ones that present the biggest challenge. If you are not ready it's going to find you out."
Woods said on Tuesday he had made another "baseline shift" in his swing with consultant Chris Como and was prepared to endure "short-term suffering for long-term gain."
Harmon's Sky Sports colleague Paul McGinley added: "His game is in disarray and there is a sadness to it because we know how great he has been."
