Tiger’s U.S. Open bid concludes at difficult Chambers Bay

Struggling to find his form from beginning to end, Tiger Woods missed the cut in the 115th U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., for only the second time in his pro career. After shooting a 10-over 80 on Thursday, his highest score as a pro in the tournament, Woods followed with a 6-over 76 on Friday to finish at 16-over 156.

 It marked only the fifth time he has missed the cut in a major championship. The last time he failed to qualify for the weekend in a U.S. Open was in 2006 at Winged Foot, which came shortly after his father Earl passed away.

“I wanted to shoot five or six today, but I wanted to be on the other side of it,” the three-time U.S. Open winner said.

An early back-nine starter with Rickie Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen in cool, overcast conditions, Tiger bogeyed his first hole for the 10th time in his last 11 starts. The greens were a little bit slower due to overnight rain, but putting surfaces sped up as the round progressed.

After a two-putt par at the par-4 11th, Woods carded his second birdie of the tournament at the 284-yard, par-4 12th. He drove into the left greenside bunker, splashed his second shot four feet from the pin and made the putt.

With the sun peaking through the clouds, Tiger two-putted the par-4 13th for a par, but bogeyed the 513-yard, par-4 14th, where he drove into a left fairway bunker and blasted his second shot right. Woods followed with three consecutive pars, the latter coming at the 226-yard, par-3 17th, where he hit his tee shot left but rolled in a 12-foot putt for par.

On Thursday, the 18th hole played as a par-5. On Friday, the tee was moved up and it played as a 514-yard, par-4. Tiger found the fairway, but came up short with his approach shot. He elected to putt uphill to the difficult pin placement, but ran the ball 12 feet past the hole and two-putted for a bogey to make the turn at 2-over 36.

As expected, the USGA switched the par-4 first hole into a par-5. Woods took advantage of it by hitting a good drive and 3-wood to the front edge of the green, leading to a two-putt for birdie.

Tiger gave it back at the par-4 second, where he hit an iron off the tee into the left rough, came up short with his second shot and failed to get up-and-down. At the par-3 third, Woods found sand short of the green and sustained his second-straight bogey.

Tiger steadied with nice approach shots to the par-4 fourth and fifth holes, but he failed to capitalize. He two-putted from 10 feet at the fourth, then missed a 6-foot putt at the fifth, settling for pars.

Woods drove into the deep fescue grass on the right at the par-4 sixth, but muscled his second shot onto the green, about 40 feet from the pin, and two-putted for a par. At the par-4 seventh, he ripped a big drive down the middle of the fairway and hit a nice approach shot 20 feet above the hole. But Tiger ran his birdie attempt past the cup and three-putted for a bogey.

Following another good drive at the par-5 eighth, Woods went for the green in two and pulled his second shot into the left rough. From there, he gouged his third onto the green and three-putted again for a bogey.

Tiger closed out the tournament at the par-3 ninth, where the upper tee was used and the hole played 237 yards, dropping 35 yards downhill. However, the group had a long wait at the tee box after Jason Day collapsed due to dizziness and needed medical attention before completing his round.

“I played with him at Memorial and we talked about it in depth,” Woods said of Day, who has been suffering from vertigo. “I hope he’s okay. I’ll call him as soon as I’m done here and see if he’s all right.”

Woods knocked his tee shot on the front portion of the green and faced a long, uphill birdie putt that broke sharply from left to right. He ran his birdie try four feet past and missed coming back to end another frustrating day with three bogeys in a row.

“On a golf course like this, you can get exposed,” Tiger said. “You have to be dialed in and obviously I didn’t have that.”

Woods said afterward that he will stick with his summer schedule. Woods’ next tournament is the Greenbrier Classic on July 2-5.