Lee Westwood admitted he was struggling to hit the ball straight after carding a disappointing three-over 73 in the British Open first round on Thursday.
The world number three, normally one of the most accurate ball strikers in the game, failed to take advantage of birdies at the first two holes and calm conditions to leave himself in danger of missing the cut.
"I am struggling in this thing a little bit at the moment and the start sort of was a bit of a lie really," the Englishman told reporters.
"It was nice to birdie the first two holes but I don't feel in control of the ball at the moment. You get found out pretty quickly around an Open championship golf course, no matter what the conditions are like."
Westwood said he had been having problems since last month's U.S. Open where he finished in a creditable tie for 10th.
"I didn't feel like I hit it that great at the U.S. Open," he said. "Just sort of got away with a lot. Just one of those things. You can't have great form all the time. I am at a point now where it goes left or right. I'm not often straight."
Westwood double-bogeyed the third hole and suffered four bogeys on the back nine as his promising start unravelled.
"I made double bogeys and a few bogeys in the space of a few holes and that's what happens when you're on tight golf courses," he said.
Westwood was impressed by the form shown by his playing partner Bubba Watson who started with a solid 67 to lie three shots off the early lead.
"If you can't pick a point and shape it off of it, as Bubba did all day, and eliminate one side of the golf course, you're going to struggle," he said.
"You're going to make a few birdies out there. Just happened to be the first two holes. But sooner or later you'll get found out. Any golf course is intimidating if you can't pick a point and shape it off it left-to-right or right-to-left."
Westwood even found himself having to chip the ball out of a bunker left-handed.
"Can't remember the last time I had to play a left-handed shot, never mind out of a bunker," he said.
In typically phlegmatic fashion, Westwood calmly assessed his chances of getting back into contention to win his long-awaited first major.
"I need to play better than I played today," he said. "I'm not going to make up any shots playing like that. I'm going to have a cup of tea and then go out on the range."