Second-round 67 has Tiger in PLAYERS hunt
For a guy who has struggled in THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Tiger Woods has looked very comfortable the first two rounds. On Friday, he recorded his second-consecutive score of 5-under-par 67. His two-round total of 10-under 134 trails pacesetter Sergio Garcia by one stroke.
Woods won the 2001 PLAYERS Championship at the challenging 7,215-yard Stadium Course, but only has one other Top 10 showing since, finishing eighth in 2009. You wouldn’t know it this week, as Tiger has plodded his way around the layout and pulverized the par-5s. After making four birdies on them Thursday, he made an eagle and two birdies Friday, and is a combined 8-under.
“I’ve just never been able to put it all together for this one particular week,” said Woods. “I’ve done it twice, but a majority of the years I really haven’t done it. But so far this year, I’m right there.”
Tiger was runner-up in this tournament in 2000. He also produced the first of his record-breaking three-straight U.S. Amateur titles at the Stadium Course in 1994.
“Even though I haven’t played well here in the past, I’ve still won here,” he said. “I know how to get around this golf course. It’s trying to manage the ball in the correct spots, and I’ve done that the first two days.”
An early back-nine starter with defending champion Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker, Woods got off to another good start on the warm, sunny day with a birdie at the 424-yard, par-4 10th hole. After a good drive, he knocked his second shot 11 feet from the pin and made the birdie putt.
Following a scrambling up-and-down par from the right greenside bunker at the par-5 11th, Tiger added another birdie at the 358-yard, par-4 12th, cozying his short approach shot four feet from the cup. He missed an 11-foot birdie attempt at the 154-yard, par-3 13th, then bogeyed the 481-yard, par-4 14th, where he hit two errant shots and missed a 17-foot par putt.
Following a lengthy two-putt par at 15, Woods hit a nice drive at the 523-yard, par-5 16th and reached the green in two from 211 yards, leaving a 21-foot eagle try. He two-putted for a birdie.
Tiger made stress-free two-putt pars at the tough par-3 17th and par-4 18th holes, always a bonus at the Stadium Course. He two-putted from 19 feet at 17 and 24 feet at 18 to make the turn in 2-under 34.
After a long two-putt par at No. 1, Woods reached the 532-yard, par-5 second hole in two from 252 yards and drained a 20-foot eagle putt. It marked his seventh eagle in 23 rounds this year. Last year, he made six eagles in 69 rounds.
Tiger two-putted the par-3 third hole for a par, then birdied the 384-yard, par-4 fourth hole, stiffing a wedge from 119 yards within five feet of the cup. He two-putted the 471-yard, par-4 fifth hole for a par from 78 feet, making a testy four-footer.
Woods missed a 21-foot birdie try at the par-4 sixth, and dropped a shot at the 442-yard, par-4 seventh, where he drove into the right fairway bunker, blasted back into the fairway, and was unable to get up-and-down from 117 yards, just missing a nine-foot putt.
Following another lengthy two-putt par from 33 feet at the par-3 eighth, Tiger finished strong. At the 583-yard par-5 ninth, he played his second shot 140 yards short of the green, then knocked his third shot 18 feet from the flag. Woods poured in the putt for his fifth birdie of the day.
After hitting only 12 of 18 greens in regulation on Thursday, Tiger hit 15 on Friday. He also found 9-of-14 fairways and used 30 putts, one-putting six times. The last time Woods posted consecutive rounds in the 60s at the Stadium Course was in 2004.
“I’m pleased with every facet of my game,” said Tiger, a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year. “I feel like I’m driving it well, hitting it well with my irons, my distance control is good, short game is really solid and I’m making my share of putts.”
Woods will play in the final pairing on Saturday with Garcia at 2:40 p.m. ET.
