Tiger hits weekend at 1-over at the Memorial
For most of 2013, Tiger Woods has looked unbeatable, winning four of seven starts on the PGA TOUR. Through two rounds of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, that hasn’t been the case.
Tiger, the defending champion and a five-time winner of the event, followed up Thursday’s 1-under-par 71 with a 2-over 74 on Friday. Playing in warm, breezy conditions, he struggled with nearly every facet of his game. While Woods hit an impressive 13 of 14 fairways in regulation, he only found nine of 18 greens. The TOUR leader in putting, he used 30 putts for the second straight day.
“It was tough conditions out there,” Woods said afterward. “And I didn’t exactly play my best, either. It was a little rough out there and it’s not hard to make bogeys and doubles on this golf course.”
Although Tiger didn’t incur any penalty strokes during his round, he had several awkward stances and three-putted the par-5 15th hole from five feet for a double bogey. Through two rounds, he has played the par-5s in even-par.
“You hit the ball in the wrong spot, get the wrong gusts, and we had some shots in our group that ended up in some interesting spots,” said Woods, an early back-nine starter with Fred Couples and Keegan Bradley.
After shooting a 3-over-par 39 on his first nine, Tiger appeared in danger of missing the cut, something he has only done nine times as a pro in 17 years on TOUR. But even with a final-hole bogey at the par-4 ninth, Woods still shot a 1-under 35 on his second nine to safely advance to the weekend.
Tiger has a 36-hole score of 1-over-par 145, 10 strokes behind early clubhouse leader Bill Haas.
“I was just trying to get to under par for the day for my round,” Woods said, when asked about the cut. “That obviously didn’t turn out to be the case. And with a couple of holes left I felt like I had at least a chance to get to even-par for my round, then I caught a huge gust on the last hole and barely got it over the water.”
A winner in three of his last four tournaments, Tiger entered the Memorial well-rested after a two-week break. He knew the large, contoured greens would be quick — a trademark of host and course designer Jack Nicklaus — and he has yet to get comfortable with his putter.
Woods started his round with three consecutive pars, getting up-and-down from the right greenside bunker at the 471-yard, par-4 10th hole. At the 455-yard, par-4 13th, he drove into the left rough, missed the green left with his approach and was unable to convert an eight-foot par putt.
After a two-putt par at No. 14, Tiger double-bogeyed No. 15. He missed the green long with his third shot, then faced a slick, downhill chip. He ran the ball five feet past the cup and his par putt was a power lip-out, leaving him seven feet coming back for bogey. He missed that putt as well.
Woods parred Nos. 16, 17 and 18.
Moving to the front nine, Tiger two-putted the first four holes for pars. He recorded his first birdie of the day at the 522-yard, par-5 fifth hole, where he reached the green in two from 238 yards and two-putted from 43 feet. Woods gave himself a good birdie chance at the 447-yard, par-4 sixth, but missed from 16 feet.
He did birdie the 563-yard, par-5 seventh, where his second shot finished short-right of the green and he pitched to 4 1/2 feet.
Tiger made a nice par save at the 185-yard, par-3 eighth. His tee shot missed the green left, but he hit a well-judged chip from 45 feet to just inside five feet of the pin and made the putt.
At the par-4 ninth, Woods hit a good drive but came up short of the green from 148 yards, narrowly avoiding water. He hit a flop shot for his third shot but didn’t reach the green, then chipped to close range to salvage a bogey.
Given how well he has played this year, Tiger was hardly discouraged. He still has two rounds to play himself back into contention, although weather could be a factor. Rain and thunderstorms are in the weekend forecast.
“I’m not too disappointed with it,” he said. “It’s not that far off.”
