Tough finish sends Tiger to second-round 70 at Palmer
Tiger Woods let a good round slip away Friday on Day 2 of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at rainy Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla. He finished with a 2-under-par 70, but bogeyed the last three holes.
A seven-time winner of the tournament, Tiger has a 36-hole score of 5-under 139 and is tied for seventh place, four strokes behind co-leaders Bill Haas and Justin Rose.
Woods was 5-under for the day, and just one stroke off the lead, when he reached the short, par-5 16th hole. He drove into the right fairway bunker, but with a clean lie, no lip to contend with and 209 yards to the green, decided to go for it in two. However, he caught the ball heavy with an iron and it rolled into a fronting water hazard, resulting in his first bogey of the afternoon.
At the 209-yard, par-3 17th, which is guarded by water and sand, Woods pulled a 6-iron left of the green into thick rough and failed to get up-and-down.
With rain falling harder, Tiger blocked his drive at the demanding 458-yard, par-4 18th hole into heavy rough and had no chance to reach the green. He played 50 yards short of the putting surface and left a slick, 30-foot downhill putt inches short of the cup.
All told, he hit two balls into the water, three-putted once — his first in more than 90 holes — and missed putts from two and three feet. After taming the par-5s in 5-under Thursday, he played them in 1-under Friday.
Even with the mistakes, Woods remains well within striking distance of joining Sam Snead as the only player to win the same PGA Tour event eight times.
Teeing off in partly-cloudy conditions with first-round leader Justin Rose and Ernie Els, Woods birdied the 461-yard, par-4 first hole. He knocked his approach shot from 166 yards to 11 feet from the cup and made the putt. At the 211-yard, par-3 second, Tiger hit a beautiful tee shot — the ball stopping two feet from the pin — but he was unable to convert.
At the 434-yard, par-4 third hole, Woods pulled his drive into the water hazard on the left. After sustaining a one-stroke penalty, he dropped and was left with 166 yards to the green. Tiger’s third shot finished 20 feet from the flag and he poured in the putt to save par.
Woods drove into the left fairway bunker at the 561-yard, par-5 fourth hole. He hit a good recovery shot just short of the green and chipped to seven feet, but was unable to capitalize on the short birdie attempt. Tiger split the fairway with his tee shot at the 390-yard, par-4 fifth and had 152 yards remaining to the green. He hit his approach shot just over the back left potion of the green, 24 feet away, and got up-and-down for par.
For the second consecutive day, Woods marked an eagle on his scorecard. He eagled the par-5 16th on Thursday, then matched that feat at the 555-yard, par-5 sixth hole on Friday. He hit a nice drive and a beautiful approach shot from 217 yard to eight feet from the pin.
Tiger parred the next three holes, two-putting each from long distance, to make the turn in 3-under 33.
At the 357-yard, par-4 10th, Woods hit his tee shot into the left fairway bunker, came up just short of the green with a pitching wedge, then made a nice up-and-down to save par. He followed with a 14-foot birdie putt at the 438-yard, par-4 11th.
Tiger squandered a great birdie opportunity at the 574-yard, par-5 12th, where he reached the green with an iron from 255 yards out of the left rough, leaving a 50-foot downhill eagle putt. Woods ran his first putt three feet past, then lipped out coming back to settle for a par.
At the 370-yard, par-4 13th hole, Tiger stung a fairway wood down the center of the fairway, then hated his sand wedge second shot, the ball stopping 18 feet right of the cup. But he loved the result, rolling in the tricky, left-to-right birdie putt.
After a long two-putt par at No. 14, Woods knocked his approach shot at the par-4 15th into the back bunker, hit a nice sand shot that settled two feet from the hole and saved par. Then came the tough finish.
Tiger has won at Bay Hill in seven of his 15 previous starts. He’ll begin the third round at 1:10 p.m., playing with Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño. Thunder showers are in the forecast Saturday.
