Tiger misses cut at The Greenbrier Classic
For just the ninth time in his PGA Tour career, Tiger Woods missed the cut Friday in The Greenbrier Classic at the Old White TPC Course in Sulphur Springs, W.Va. He shot a 1-under-par 69 to finish at even-par 140, but came up one stroke above the 36-hole cut.
“I didn’t quite have it,” said Woods. “I drove it really good and I just did not have the right feel for the distances. The ball was just going forever. I know we’re at altitude but I just couldn’t get the ball pin high no matter what I did, and subsequently I made some bogeys.”
For the second straight day, Tiger hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation, and was sharp off the tee, finding 11 of 14 fairways. He also finished with 28 putts.
Woods sunk an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-3 18th hole, but it wasn’t enough to survive the weekend.
Earlier this year, he missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship.
A late front-nine starter with Webb Simpson and Steve Stricker, Woods began the second round at 1-over par, eight strokes behind pacesetter Vijay Singh. The early projection on the 36-hole cut was 1-under and it proved accurate.
Making his first appearance in the tournament, Tiger got off to a shaky start. After a nice par-save at the first hole, he two-putted from 26 feet for a par at the par-4 second, just missing on the right. But at the 205-yard, par-3 third, he hit his tee shot 55 feet past the cup and three-putted for a bogey, leaving his first putt nine feet short.
Knowing he needed to make a few birdies to advance to the weekend, Woods missed the green with his tee shot at the 427-yard, par-4 fourth hole from 156 yards, finding the right greenside bunker. He blasted to four feet and made the putt.
At the 388-yard, par-4 fifth, Tiger piped his drive down the fairway and had 121 yards remaining to the hole. He hit his approach shot six feet from the cup and missed the short birdie putt.
After a par at No. 6, Woods came back with a birdie at the 430-yard, par-4 seventh, then parred No. 8. He gave himself another good birdie look from 12 feet at the par-4 ninth when a horn sounded and suspended play for nearly two hours due to inclement weather.
When play resumed, Tiger missed the birdie putt and made the turn in even-par 34.
Woods began the back nine with consecutive bogeys at the par-4 10th and 11th holes. He rebounded with a birdie at the par-5 12th, then added another at the 401-yard, par-4 14th. However, he missed an eight-foot birdie putt at the 217-yard, par-3 15th, and was unable to birdie the par-5 17th hole.
“I had my distance dialed in last week and this week I was hitting the ball so far,” said Woods, who was coming off his third victory of the year at the AT&T National. “My sand wedge is going 142 (yards). Pitching wedge is 160. These are numbers I don’t normally hit.”
Tiger returns to competition July 19-22 at the British Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. He is a three-time winner of the tournament but did not compete last year due to injury.
