Tiger Woods misses cut at PGA Championship
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Tiger Woods comments after Round 2 of the PGA Championship
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Illness kept Tiger Woods from coming to Bethpage Black on the eve of the PGA Championship. He won’t be there on Saturday or Sunday, either.
Woods couldn’t find a fairway Friday and shot 73 to miss the cut in the PGA Championship for the fourth time in his career. This is his ninth missed cut in 76 majors as a pro. Woods’ 5-over 145 (72-73) was one stroke too high to earn a weekend tee time.
“I just don't feel well and just not able to do it,” said Woods, who ranks 18th in the FedExCup.
The PGA Championship was Woods’ first start since winning the Masters, and his first opportunity to tie Sam Snead’s record for PGA TOUR victories (82). That pursuit, and Woods’ quest for his 16th major, will have to wait.
Many expected Woods to play the Wells Fargo Championship between Augusta National and Bethpage Black, but he said he wasn’t ready to tee it up at Quail Hollow because he was still relishing in his first major in more than a decade.
There were signs of rust in his opening round at Bethpage Black, where he won the 2002 U.S. Open, including two three-putts and two short wedge shots that air-mailed the green. He three-putted two more times Friday, but his driver was the biggest culprit. He missed his first six fairways Friday and hit just three in the round.
“I've enjoyed being the Masters champion again, and the PGA was a quick turnaround, and unfortunately I just didn't play well,” Woods said. “I didn't do all the little things I need to do correctly to post good scores and put myself in position to shoot good scores.”
Woods played alongside Brooks Koepka as Koepka put on a dominant performance that was reminiscent of Woods’ masterful play at Pebble Beach in 2000. Koepka beat Woods by 17 shots this week.
After starting his week on No. 10, Woods made two double-bogeys on his opening nine. He was able to get under par by playing Bethpage Black’s opening four holes in 4 under par, though. He gave back those strokes with three bogeys on his last five holes, but his ball-striking still looked solid on the first day.
His inability to hit fairways Friday kept him from taking advantage of Bethpage Black’s inviting early holes. He played Nos. 1-4 in 1 over par, five strokes higher than the previous day. That opening stretch features three of the four easiest holes on the course, including a short par-5 and the shortest par-4 on the course.
“I just wasn't moving the way I needed to. That's the way it goes. There's going to be days and weeks where it's just not going to work, and today was one of those days.”
He bogeyed the second hole before making his first birdie on No. 6. He bogeyed the next hole but made the turn in even-par after a birdie on 9. That started a six-hole stretch that featured two birdies and four bogeys.
He bogeyed the first three holes of the back nine before making birdie on the par-5 13th despite driving into a fairway bunker. He had his fourth three-putt of the week on the 14th, the shortest hole on the course, after hitting his 162-yard tee shot more than 50 feet from the hole. He needed a birdie on the final four holes but couldn’t make it happen. His last chance was a must-make chip from the fringe on 18, which he sent racing 5 feet past the hole. This week ended a streak of 14 consecutive cuts made that dated back to last year’s U.S. Open.
Woods didn’t say when he would make his next start, but he’s expected to play the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on May 30-June 2. He’s a five-time winner at Muirfield Village.
“There's no reason why I can't get up to speed again and crank it back up,” Woods said. “I've got to start feeling a little bit better first before that happens. We'll do that first and then start cranking it back up again.”
ROUND 2: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE
No. 18 (par 4, 411 yards):
Fairway: Missed (3 of 14)
Green: Missed (9 of 18)
Putts: 1 (30)
Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall)
No. 17 (par 3, 207 yards):
Fairway: N/A
Green: Hit (9 of 17)
Putts: 29
Score: 3 (+3, +5 overall)
Fairway: Missed (2 of 13)
Green: Missed (8 of 16)
Putts: 27
Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall)
No. 15 (par 4, 484 yards):
Fairway: Hit (2 of 12)
Green: Hit (8 of 15)
Putts: 2 (26)
Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall)
No. 14 (par 3, 161 yards):
Fairway: N/A
Green: Hit (7 of 14)
Putts: 3 (24)
Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall)
No. 13 (par 5, 608 yards): A hard-earned birdie on the Black Course’s only par-5 on the back nine. He had to lay up after driving into a fairway bunker, but then hit his 160-yard approach to 9 feet. He’s sandwiched three bogeys between birdies on 9 and 13. Four over may be enough to make the cut but he can’t afford to drop another shot on the last five holes.
Fairway: Missed (1 of 11)
Green: Hit (6 of 13)
Putts: 1 (21)
Score: 4 (+2, +4 overall)
No. 12 (par 4, 515 yards):
Fairway: Missed (1 of 10)
Green: Hit (5 of 12)
Putts: 3 (20)
Score: 5 (+3, +5 overall)
No. 11 (par 4, 435 yards): Tiger is mixing things up a bit. He missed this fairway to the right. He’s still hit just one today. From 194 yards out, he tried to play a nifty shot from the rough, choking down on a fairway wood to punch it out of the rough. He squeezed his ball between the bunkers in front of the green, but it ran into the rough behind the green. A poor chip from there left Woods with a 12-foot par putt. He missed that to fall to 4 over for the first time this week. And now he’s on the wrong side of the cut line.
Fairway: Missed (1 of 9)
Green: Missed (4 of 11)
Putts: 2 (17)
Score: 5 (+2, +4 overall)
No. 10 (par 4, 502 yards): Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Another miss to the left off the tee. This is becoming a theme. Just like Thursday, he has to lay up again on this long par-4. He wedges to 11 feet from 109 yards, but he misses the par putt. He’s back on the cut line with eight holes remaining.
Fairway: Miss (1 of 8)
Green: Miss (4 of 10)
Putts: 2 (15)
Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 9 (par 4, 460 yards): A strong finish to the front nine. Tiger hit the fairway and the green and rolled in his 40-foot birdie putt. That will provide a little breathing room on the back nine as Tiger hopes to stay inside the cut line. It looks like he’s playing for a cut with his tee shots but the ball just isn’t fading. That’s why all his misses have been left. His iron play has been solid when he’s had the opportunity to hit approaches from short stuff.
Fairway: Hit (1 of 7)
Green: Hit (4 of 9)
Putts: 1 (13)
Score: 3 (E, +2 overall)
No. 8 (par 3, 210 yards): A straightforward par. And that’s a good thing at this point. Tiger hit his 201-yard tee shot to 22 feet, then two-putted for par.
Fairway: N/A
Green: Hit (3 of 8)
Putts: 2 (12)
Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 7 (par 4, 524 yards):Another fairway missed. This one was left, as well. He could only hack out on this brutish par-4. He hit a strong wedge shot to 6 feet but missed the putt for his second bogey of the day.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 6)
Green: Missed (2 for 7)
Putts: 2 (10)
Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 6 (par 4, 408 yards): Left. Again. He still hasn’t hit a fairway, but he collects his first birdie of the day after hitting his 133-yard approach to 18 feet. He holed the putt from the fringe to get back to even par for the day.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 5)
Green: Missed (2 for 6)
Putts: 0 (8)
Score: 3 (E, +2 overall)
No. 5 (par 4, 478 yards): Left again with the driver. He’s missed the first four fairways today. The rough is no place to be at Bethpage Black. He’s able to advance it into a greenside bunker. He blasted his ball to 9 feet and made the putt to stay on the correct side of the cut line.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 4)
Green: Missed (2 for 5)
Putts: 1 (8)
Score: 4 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 4 (par 5, 517 yards): We’ll have to wait another hole for Tiger to hit his first fairway. He’s missed left both times he’s unsheathed the big stick today. That necessitates a lay-up. His spotty wedge play continued on the third shot, though, as he hit the 75-yarder to 25 feet. He two-putts for par and fails to take advantage of another hole that offers the rare birdie opportunity at Bethpage Black. Nos. 1, 2 and 4 are three of the four easiest holes on the course. He played them in 1 over. Tiger is now 13 shots behind Brooks.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 3)
Green: Hit (2 for 4)
Putts: 2 (7)
Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 3 (par 3, 230 yards): Tiger gave himself a great birdie chance after lasering a long-iron to 11 feet on this 221-yard hole. Unfortunately, it’s the second consecutive day that he’s unable to convert on a strong tee shot on the course’s toughest par-3. He missed a 9-foot birdie putt here on Friday. Tiger had to work hard for par after racing the birdie putt by, but he holed his 4-foot par putt to avoid dropping another shot.
Fairway: NA
Green: Hit (1 for 3)
Putts: 2 (5)
Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 2 (par 4, 389 yards): The second hole is the shortest par-4 at Bethpage Black but Tiger missed the fairway with an iron off the tee. He could only hack out, leaving himself a 90-yard wedge shot for his third. That shot spun back, some 20 feet short of the hole. Bethpage’s first two holes are the second- and fourth-easiest on the course, but Tiger has played them in 1 over. Another Brooks birdie means Tiger is now 12 back and, more importantly, on the cut line.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 2)
Green: Missed (0 for 2)
Putts: 2 (3)
Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall)
No. 1 (par 4, 430 yards): A sloppy start. Tiger missed both the fairway and the green on Bethpage’s opening hole, but he salvaged par with a strong sand shot. He pulled his opening tee shot into the fans, which was a thrill for the New Yorkers but a headache for security. It took several minutes for the rowdy gallery members to clear out and give Tiger enough room to gouge his ball out of the thick stuff. He bounced that shot into the bunker, but he left himself plenty of green to work with. He finished it off with a 4-foot birdie putt. Brooks made an easy birdie, though, and Tiger is now 10 back.
Fairway: Missed (0 for 1)
Green: Missed (0 for 1)
Putts: 1 (1)
Score: 4 (E, +2 overall)