Tiger Woods was teetering on the cut line as he headed into the final nine holes on Friday but he showed the grit and determination that is his trademark as he made it to the weekend at the 2022 PGA Championship.
After struggling with an opening 74, Tiger got some clouds to make it a bit more tolerable at Southern Hills on Friday. Playing with first round leader Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, Woods was even par at the turn, still four-over and right there on the cut-line. “We knew the number,” Woods said after his round.
“The cut was going to be between three and four (over) starting out, and then with the wind pumping like it was, I thought it might drop to four, and it did,” Woods said of the morning wave that faced the toughest conditions.
Woods birdied the 10th to get to one-under for the day but gave it back with a big mistake at the par three 11th. He pulled his tee shot, it went long and into the hazard behind the green. He’d end up with a double-bogey five and was on the wrong side of the cut line.
But he put it in full Tiger-grind mode. He made birdies at 13 and 16, finished with a one-under par 69 and earned a spot in the weekend lineup.
He made a great par save at the 14th — a 14-footer that kept him in the game. Then he made a great up-and-down from the bunker behind the par-four 15th that drew a rare smile on what was, by all accounts, another painfully difficult day. “That was a tasty little bunker shot there. That was a good one. I liked that one. I didn’t like putting myself there, but I liked executing the shot,” he smiled. “I’ve had a great (physical therapy) staff that have put Humpty Dumpty back together, and we’ll go out there tomorrow and, hopefully, I can do something like what (Bubba Watson who shot a second-round 63) did today,” Woods said.
Playing partner McIlroy was amazed by Woods’ determination:
“Looking at him yesterday (Thursday), if that would have been me, I would have been considering pulling out and just going home, but Tiger is different and he’s proved he’s different. It was just a monumental effort.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler Misses The Cut:
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler found the tough side of the draw this week and his game just couldn’t handle the conditions on Friday. After a first round 71, Scheffler shot an ugly 75 on Friday and missed the cut at six-over par and became the third World No. 1 to miss the cut at the PGA Championship.
While Scheffler went home early, his playing partners made it to the weekend. World No. 2 Jon Rahm’s 69 on Friday got him back to two-over par while No. 3 Collin Morikawa made the cut on the number (four-over) after shooting a pair of 72s.
No Club Professionals Made The 36-hole Cut:
There were 20 members of the PGA of America in the field and none of those club professionals made it to the weekend.
Matthew Borchert finished as PGA Low Club Professional shot 73-74 and finished seven-over.
No Career Grand Slam For Spieth:
Looks like Jordan Spieth will have to wait another year for a chance at the career Grand Slam. After an opening 72, Jordy rallied with a 69 on Friday and was in at one-over par, a whopping 10 shots behind 36-hole leader Will Zalatoris.
Big Rally For Brooks Koepka:
Brooks Koepka looked like he might head home early after a Thursday 75 but he fashioned a really snazzy three-under par 67 in the strong win on Friday and made the weekend at two-over par.
More Major Misery For Patrick Cantlay:
World No. 5 Patrick Cantlay continued his poor performance in major championships this week. Cantlay was simply awful with rounds of 76-75 and at 11-over par, missed the cut by seven shots.
On that theme, No. 12 Dustin Johnson’s poor played continued. D.J. missed the cut by two shots after a pair of 73s.
