There were moments in Tiger Woods' second round at the PGA Championship in which he looked poised to make a run at the leaders. There were moments, too, when it seemed certain he was headed toward a missed cut and an early exit from Southern Hills Country Club.
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In the end, Woods did what Woods does: He grinded. A few long par putts, a few well-timed birdies coming in and Woods will be around for the weekend at the year's second major championship. Here is a look at Woods' sometimes impressive, sometimes messy round of 1-under 69:
No. 1: Par 4, 451 yards
Woods was wide off the first tee. He gingerly walked off the tee, headed down the rough to find his ball. With a good lie, he lofted a wedge onto the green and then navigated a two-putt for a relatively easy opening par. He opened the day hovering around the cut line. So the early part of his round will be key.
Fridays with @TigerWoods 😍 pic.twitter.com/Nt9E7CiDsK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2022
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 2: Par 4, 480 yards
Woods spent a lot of time trying to figure out the wind off the tee. It didn't help. He missed the fairway right, just as he did at the first. He then dumped his approach from 187 yards into the front bunker. But after a brutal day out of the sand on Thursday, Woods hit a perfect blast in his first attempt Friday. That touch allowed for a kick-in par.
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 3: Par 4, 444 yards
Took three tries, but he hit a fairway. A safe approach left a long, long birdie putt. About halfway to the hole, you could see in Woods' eyes he thought it had a chance to go in. Instead, it lost speed and stopped a foot short. But on a hard day, with a tricky wind, three pars to start is not bad.
At least he didn't do this:
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 4: Par 4, 377 yards
Tulsa loves Tiger.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/M4VstGkTU9
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
The stinger made its first appearance of the second round. But this wasn't with 2-iron, which was the stinger of choice on Thursday - and which didn't always work out well. This 3-wood stinger found the fairway and led to a routine par.
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 5: Par 5, 656 yards
Golf requires skill, for sure. But a little luck never hurt. After a perfect drive, Woods hit a not-so-perfect layup at the gargantuan par-5. But the ball landed in the rough and got a good bounce and tumbled into the fairway. That allowed him to control distance and spin on the wedge approach, which he stuffed to 6 feet. He made the putt for birdie and moved inside the cutline while getting into red numbers for the day.
Crushed it. ⛳️@TigerWoods | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/n802yOxgA9
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
Score: Birdie
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 6: Par 3, 226 yards
A solid tee shot left Woods with a 20-footer for birdie. And for the second time in his first six holes, Woods thought he had made a putt that eventually did not drop. He thought, for a moment, he had made the one at No. 3. He thought, again, at No. 6, he made it. But this putt slid by on the low side. One thing is clear: Woods is into this round.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 7: Par 4, 443 yards
Woods had been on with his irons through six holes. He hit a loose one on his approach to the seventh green - and got away with it. Had the ball come down a yard or two shorter and spun more, it could have gone back into the water short of the green. Instead, he faced a relatively easy chip -- which he nearly holed.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 8: Par 3, 220 yards
Was it wind? Was it the wrong club? On the 220-yard par-3, Woods hit it ... 250 yards. He was up against the grandstand behind the green ... which is not actually close to the green. Then Woods hit an awful pitch that only made it to the fringe, leaving 50 feet for par. A pivotal point in the round arrived. About eight holes in on Thursday is when Woods' body and game started to fall off.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 9: Par 4, 395 yards
Woods missed the fairway at the ninth, but had just 95 yards. Thing was, he couldn't really hit it high because of overhanging branches. Then he showed the artistry, hitting a low, driving wedge - two bounces, spin, stop. He could not, however, navigate the 8-footer for birdie. He started walking as soon as he hit it, knowing he pulled it and that it would miss on the low side.
Front nine 35 for @TigerWoods.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2022
He's right on the projected cut line at +4 @PGAChampionship. pic.twitter.com/B3LJx8CZ8O
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 10: Par 4, 376 yards
Woods knew the approach he hit into the 10th green was good. As the ball was in the air, he called out the universal plea from a player who thinks he hit a good shot: "Be right," Woods said. It was. Woods then walked in the 10-footer for birdie to get back to under par for the day and, again, inside the cut line.
Score: Birdie
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 11: Par 3, 173 yards
How do you follow up a solid birdie? Hit an atrocious shot on a par-3. Woods fired off the dreaded double-cross - meaning he tried to hit a fade and instead pulled it way left. The ball stayed out of the hazard, but his chip shot didn't hold the green and went into the bunker. His pitch went 10 feet past the hole. He missed the putt. All those good feelings from the birdie at the 10th disappeared in a hurry, because he went from inside the cut line by 1 shot to outside the cutline by 1 shot.
Score: Double bogey
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands in the tournament: 5 over
No. 12: Par 4, 461 yards
Things turned for Woods - quickly. The birdie at the 10th gave hope. Then came the double. A good drive at the 12th was followed by a wedge shot that was badly missed. Worse yet, Woods favored that surgically repaired leg almost immediately after contact. But he rolled in a big 12-footer that kept hope for playing the weekend alive.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands in the tournament: 5 over
No. 13: Par 5, 632 yards
The limp has grown as the day has progressed. Again, as soon as Woods made contact on his layup into the par-5, he favored the left leg and then took a painful step. Then he steps up to the wedge and hook-spins in a perfectly executed shot. He rolled in the birdie and is now, again, back inside the cut line.
Tiger gets the birdie. 🐅#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/sx99OFpyzK
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
Score: Birdie
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 14: Par 3, 230 yards
Woods made an odd choice after missing the green off the tee. Seemed like he would play a low bump across the green. Instead, he opted to go high. The pitch stopped well short. But always the grinder, Woods rolled in the 15-footer to save par to stay on the number to make the cut.
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 15: Par 4, 417 yards
Another stressful par for Woods, but still, he made par. An airmailed second shot was followed by a perfect bunker shot. Three more pars and he is around for the weekend.
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands in the tournament: 4 over
No. 16: Par 4, 522 yards
Woods hit his best shot of the day, a laser from 209 yards that came to rest 4 feet from the hole. With two holes left, Woods gave himself some breathing room to make the cut.
Southern Hills is electric right now.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/sdH34PwEdq
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
Score: Birdie
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 17: Par 4, 371 yards
Woods had one shot to work with over his final two holes. He missed the green with his approach and had a relatively easy pitch to get up and down for par. But he made it stressful, leaving a tricky little 4-footer. He rolled that in to save par. Nothing worse than bogey at the 18th, and he's in for the weekend.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 under
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over
No. 18: Par 4, 491 yards
Think Woods didn't know what he needed to do? A solid tee shot, a safe approach, two putts and he moved on to the weekend, one shot inside the cut line.
Weekend plans, Tiger? 🐅#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/VhH5ZKd8Mn
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1-under 69
Where he stands in the tournament: 3 over