John Smoltz's debut in a major golf championship did not go well.
The Baseball Hall of Famer posted a 15-over-par 85 on Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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Afterward, Smoltz admitted the course had beaten him.
"I'm just being honest," Smoltz told reporters, per The Associated Press. “I don’t have enough game for this course yet.”
Smoltz was playing under typically onerous U.S. Open course conditions, and while he said he only hit "three bad shots," he also points out that he was in a lot unfamiliar of situations.
"I never expected to get that many bad lies," he said, per the AP. “Nothing I could do about it. And I had a lot of tough shots that I have not practiced and that I am not used to hitting.”
One positive for Smoltz is that he didn't post the worst score of the day. In fact, three golfers had gone higher as of 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. MT). He'll try to stay off the bottom Friday in Round 2. Tee time is 2:51 p.m. ET (12:51 p.m. MT).
UPDATE: Smoltz scored better than four golfers, two of whom are amateurs. He ended the day 19 shots behind first-round leader Jerry Kelly.
