Darren Clarke suffered a nightmare start to the Bay Hill Invitational in Florida yesterday, carding an eight-over-par 80 to completely lose touch with the opposite end of the table.

Clarke never got going at all and began his round at the 10th with a bogey. Further bogeys at the par-three 14th and par-five 18th saw him reach the turn at three-over.

However, the worst was yet to come. After recording his single birdie - at the par-five fourth hole - Clarke suffered a double bogey seven at the sixth.

And then, on the second last hole, Clarke shot a devastating quadruple-bogey eight to leave his round in complete tatters.

Clarke left the ninth green a disappointed man and it was left to his faithful caddie Billy Foster to make a few comments.

"Obviously he is very disappointed with his performance. When you have a finish like that it is almost embarrassing to be out there," said Foster.

"He was not happy with his swing out there and the golf course is not the place to be having different thoughts about the swing. when you start the way we did the stuffing is knocked out of you and I know he hurts badly when he plays like that."

Though not quite as bad, Tiger Woods also made the sort of start that was wholly in keeping with his season so far.

He was in cruise-control at four under par with two holes to play, when the game reared up again and smacked his legs hard.

He took a triple-bogey seven at the eight - the same hole that Clarke took a seven - leaving him, not only angry, but also five shots behind the opening-round leaders.

Whatever makes Woods tick is currently missing a beat and it is perhaps little wonder that after his round yesterday he stalked off the course brushing all would-be questioners to one side.

The official designated to talk to him was also ignored and, when he ran after the player in one last attempt to elicit a few gems, all he got was the less-than edifying: "I played like dog shit." Unlike his golf, Tiger's tantrums are less than world-class.

Five golfers share the lead after the first round. Americans Steve Pate, Dennis Paulson, Mark Calcavecchia, Phil Mickelson and New Zealand's Grant Waite all recorded scores of six-under-par 66.