A wild five over par 76 from Tiger Woods on Friday saw him miss the halfway cut at the Genesis Open, enough motivation to play next week at the Honda Classic.
Woods has never won at Riviera in 10 starts and that streak will continue.
The tournament host hit just four fairways and took 32 putts to slump to +3 through 36 holes.
Ranks (out of 142):
- Birdies made: T14
- SG: Putting: 67th
- SG: Tee-to-green: 121st
- SG: Off-the-tee: 128th
- Bogeys made: T136
‘I didn’t really play that well today. I missed every tee shot left and I did not putt well, didn’t feel very good on the greens and consequently never made a run,’ Woods said.
A birdie at the 10th helped get him back in the frame after he went out in 37 (+2) but then made three drops in a row with two three-putts in that sequence to have no chance of making the weekend; his 25th missed cut in 330 starts.
‘I didn’t feel very good when I was warming up with my putting. The greens were fast and bumpy, and I knew that,’ he said.
‘I need to miss the golf ball below the hole … when the greens get this fast and this bumpy, anything above the hole is virtually luck if you make the putt. I kept missing it above the hole and that’s what was ticking me off.’
Woods quickly committed to next week’s The Honda Classic near his Florida home; a positive sign that his back is holding up to the demands of tournament golf.
The other two members of Woods’ group are lurking entering the weekend. Justin Thomas shot an even-par 71 and is 2 under; Rory McIlroy also is at 2 under after a 69 when he birdied two of his last six holes. ‘Hit the ball really well the last nine holes yesterday and then 18 today, so last 27 I played really nicely,’ McIlroy said.
One player working over his struggles was Graeme McDowell.
Through two rounds, McDowell is 7 under, his 5-under 66 on Friday vaulting him into a tie with first-round co-leader Patrick Cantlay and Sam Saunders, who still has three holes left before finishing his second round. The 66 ties for G-Mac’s lowest round in his last 21 TOUR starts.
Retief Goosen is the leading South African on -3 after a level par 71 on Friday. He’s in T11 and could be one to watch in difficult scoring conditions. Both Branden Grace and Tyrone van Aswegen were unable to gain ground on Friday both dropping to level with 72s.
Charl Schwartzel is currently on the cutline after a 73 while Ernie Els miss sit out the final two rounds after a 76 saw him drop 60 places down the leaderboard.
