After a thunderstorm forced play to be suspended on Friday evening, Woods entered next week’s Wyndham Championship, the last regular PGA Tour event before the FedEx Cup play-offs. But things just weren’t right from the start, and he missed his third consecutive cut in a major at this week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He needed 20 putts to get through the first 13 greens – a better rate than Thursday, when he putted a total of 33 times and was asking, to no one in particular, “How bad am I putting?” with an expletive thrown in there, too. “Finally rolled the ball coming in, and unfortunately it was a little too late”. That dropped him to 5 over, which is three shots outside of the projected cut line.
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Woods in now considering playing in next week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina – the final event of the regular season on the U.S. circuit – in a last-ditch bid for extra FedExCup points.
His PGA Tour season looks to be all but over, as he can only qualify for the lucrative FedExCup playoffs if he finishes no worse than outright second at the PGA Championship.
“It’s been two years since I’ve been at my best, and it’s a little disappointing that it’s taken so long”, said Mickelson, whose last victory was at the 2013 British Open.
For all the times Woods has insisted he is changing his swing and the poor play is merely a byproduct of those adjustments, there appears to be a greater truth in play. I’m hitting shots and able to hit shots that I haven’t been able to hit in years and that’s nice again. He had the ideal rival and foil in Phil Mickelson, the lovable lefty lunkhead that seemed to be as nice as Tiger was arrogant.
“The confidence is growing quickly, ” said Woods, indicating he’s overcoming injury troubles and merely needs to build consistency. “It’s starting to come back”. “Then I started getting my ball striking in order, but then I lost my putting”, he lamented. His scoring average in the majors this year was 73.8.
Woods said he could never find the right pace on the Whistling Straits greens, making it impossible to capitalize on the favorable morning conditions. He’s trying to stay positive by the sounds of it, but more often than not, his body language on the course reveals much more – he mostly looks miserable.
“I think that’s had a lot to do with his play”, said Diaz.
“The first two events of the year were not very good at all”.
“The first two (tournaments) were not very good at all”. Prior to 2014, he missed three cuts in majors as a pro. I was driving it with them, I was sometimes hitting [approach] shots inside them. What’s a guy to do when he’s got all this money and fame and women are just throwing themselves at him? But the Northern Irishman, who missed last month’s Open Championship in St. Andrews after damaging ankle ligaments playing football with friends, faltered with bogeys on 6 and 8.
“I just haven’t put together ball striking and putting”, he said of his 2015 campaign.
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He bogeyed 18 to make the turn at one-over and found himself scrambling on an inward run that included three bogeys and a birdie.
