Tiger's Comeback Cut Short at Torrey Pines

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

THERE was a golf tournament going on at Torrey Pines, though you would never have known it from all the attention that came the way of Tiger Woods during the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. It was the 14-time major champion's return to competitive play after a lo0ng injury layoff and although he talked a good game before a shot was hit (doesn't he always?), it came as no surprise that he missed the cut.

But he wasn't the only high-profile casualty. World No 1 Jason Day, US Open champion Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler all failed to make it to the wekend too. 

His opening drive on Thursday was the portent for things to come. He carved it way right, and the ball struck a tree and dropped into the rough. Woods opened with a 76 after a disastrous finish and was always on the back foot after that. He was one under par walking off the 11th green but then followed a disastrous run that saw him drop six shots before a birdie at the 18th hole. To his credit, he mastered difficult conditions on Friday and recorded a level-par 72, but missed the cut by four shots.

After an opening tee shot over the gallery's head on the right side of the 10th fairway, he managed to get up-and-down for birdie. Two holes later, he blasted too long out of a bunker and down the ridge, leading to a bogey. Just like Thursday on the South Course, birdie chances didn't come along very often. He was rarely pin-high, and when he did have a chance, his birdie putts slid by the hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3wE3wZkhSU&t=3s

He hit only 14 of 28 fairways and 20 of 36 greens in regulation and, in anybody's language, that is not good enough. This was the first time in 16 visits to Torrey Pines that he has missed the cut. In his first 260 tournaments as a professional, Woods missed seven cuts; in his past 54 events he has missed the cut nine times. The decline is there for all to see.

"It's frustrating not being able to have a chance to win the tournament," said Woods. “Overall, the second round was a lot better than the first. I hit it better, I putted well again. "I hit a lot of beautiful putts that didn't go in, but I hit it much better today, which was nice. We fixed a few things while I was playing today which is good. I need more rounds under my belt and more playing time and that is what I am trying to do.”

He gets the chance of more playing time this week when he takes part in the Dubai Desert Classic on a course that is more suited to his game. His biggest concern was the 17-hour flight to Dubai. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7gW372hM9I

He has not played in Dubai since 2014, two months before the first of his three back surgeries. Woods said his body held up fine for two days at Torrey Pines, where he had to wear extra layers to keep warm and slash out of the rough far too often - something he willnot have to do in Dubai.

“Flying out here was something I hadn't done in a while," he said. "So now we've got a pretty good jaunt.”