Four bogeys to open John Smoltz’s round weren’t ideal. But they weren’t crushing, either.

“Four solo home runs,” the Hall of Fame pitcher told his local caddie Colin Prater at the U.S. Senior Open on Thursday. “I’m still in the game.”

A while later, as the strokes piled up, Smoltz’s tone changed.

“I can’t believe the manager’s leaving me in,” he said.

There was no manager to yank him, but there’s little hope left for Smoltz to reach the weekend after he stumbled to a 15-over-par 85 in a first-round torpedoed by, sticking within the baseball lexicon, a lack of control.

Smoltz hit just six fairways out of a possible 14 at The Broadmoor’s East Course, and the result was seven lies in the unforgiving rough where he felt he couldn’t advance the ball more than 50 or 60 yards.

“It’s kind of humiliating,” he said. “I hope to put on a better show tomorrow. My family and friends stuck around. I’m happy they did, but I would have left.”

Smoltz, now a baseball announcer for Fox, said his first round in U.S. Golf Association Open conditions left him with a new respect for the talent level among tour pros.

“When I watch golf, I think, I can do that. I can break 80 on that course,” he said. “Not in an Open.”

Even with the missed fairways and a triple-bogey on No. 15 when two shots trickled back down a hill, Smoltz felt he could have scored better. He had 16 par putts — including many from 4 or 5 feet — yet made only five pars in his round with 15 bogeys.

“A lot of par putts turned into easy bogeys,” said the former pitcher who qualified for the tournament despite claiming to have never taken a lesson and eschewing practice for playing. “I did not hit the ball in the fairway enough. I thought I hit a lot of good shots that just didn’t get good results. I can promise you there won’t be worse lies tomorrow.”

“It’s kind of humiliating. I hope to put on a
better show tomorrow. My family and friends stuck around. I’m happy they did, but I would have left.” John Smoltz on his Senior Open performance