Woods loses ground at Doral despite 5-under 67
Normally when you shoot a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, you feel pretty good. Not so with Tiger Woods.
“This is the highest score I could have shot today for sure,” he said Friday after the second round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Doral, Fla. “It could have been pretty low today.”
Woods wasn’t kidding. While he finished with 28 putts, he either lipped out or narrowly missed on about eight birdie attempts, and could have posted something special.
“I hit pure putts,” he said. “I hit them right on my line and they were just lipping out. I just have to be committed to what I’m doing and continue rolling it, because I’m hitting the putts on what I’m reading and what I’m seeing, and unfortunately they are just lipping out.”
Woods has a 36-hole score of 5-under 139 and is tied for 15th, seven strokes behind pacesetter Bubba Watson, who shot 62.
After 30-mph winds and rain Thursday, conditions were ideal for scoring, as the Blue Monster temporarily let down its guard. Justin Rose shot 64.
“Certainly it could be had,” said Woods. “All of the par 5s are reachable for the long hitters today. You drive the ball well on most of the holes, you’re going to have some short irons in there and you can take advantage of it.”
For the second consecutive week, Tiger’s ball-striking has been superb.
He hit 14 greens in regulation Friday and found 64 percent of the fairways. In two of his last three rounds, Tiger has finished without a bogey on his card.
A late-morning starter off the 10th tee with Nick Watney and Sergio Garcia, Woods opened with a tap-in birdie at the par 5. He missed a 15-foot birdie attempt at the par-4 11th, then birdied the 603-yard, par-5 12th, sinking a 23-foot putt.
Following a long two-putt par at No. 13, Woods just missed a 26-foot birdie putt at the par-4 14th. Tiger two-putted the par-3 15th hole from 26 feet, then easily saved par from behind the green at the short par-4 16th.
Woods missed another good birdie opportunity at the 419-yard, par-4 17th, then made a nice two-putt for par from the back fringe at the always-challenging par-4 18th hole to make the turn in 2-under 34.
At the par-5 first hole, Woods burned the right edge of the cup with an 18-foot eagle putt, but tapped in for par. He made a nice up-and-down par save from the front left bunker at the par-4 second hole, then saved par again from behind the green at the par-4 third.
Tiger finally got a putt to drop at the 210-yard, par-3 fourth, where he rolled in a 17-footer that took a victory lap around the cup before settling at the bottom. He followed with a six-foot birdie putt at the par-4 fifth, which felt good considering he bogeyed the fourth and fifth holes on Thursday.
Woods nearly made it three in a row at the 442-yard, par-4 sixth, where his 21-foot birdie bid stopped one roll short of the hole. The frustration continued at the 443-yard, par-4 seventh, where Tiger hit a nice approach shot from 107 yards 14 feet beyond the cup but had another putt lip out.
He gave himself good birdie looks at the last two holes, but with similar results. Woods just missed from 15 feet at the par-5 eighth, then watched an 18-footer slide left of the cup at the par-3 ninth.
Woods, a six-time winner of the event, will try to close ground on the leaders Saturday. He tees off at 12:25 p.m. ET with Steve Stricker.
