Tiger Woods Becomes the Quail Hollow Quitter

Say what you want about Tiger Woods, but the one thing this huge talent of a golfer has never done is quit on a round of golf.

He's missed cuts in his career, but not many. He went nine years without missing a cut. That's because he never quit on a round.

Until Friday.

And no one saw this coming after nine holes of the second round. Woods managed an even par front nine and you can bet a dozen Titleists that most figured he'd make a couple of birdies on the back and slide in under the cut line at the Quail Hollow Championship.

Didn't happen.

In fact, it was a train wreck of a nine holes that saw the world's No. 1 shoot a mind-boggling 43. He tied his worst nine ever as a pro. It was remarkable and ugly to see.

It was that bad. It was 79 bad. It was nine over bad for two rounds. Playing partner Angel Cabrerra cut him by 12 shots for the 18 holes. Has that ever happened to Woods?

The writing on the wall began at 10 through 12, three bogeys, five-over with five to play and in need of a miracle. Instead, Tiger gave us disaster.

"You can't miss it right on 14," warned Golf Channel announcer Nick Faldo. Woods promptly missed it right. "Oh my, wow!" exclaimed Faldo. "He'll have to hit a superb shot to keep it on the green."

He didn't and, not only did it miss the green, it went in the drink.

Double-bogey.

Then Woods absolutely quit on the par five 15th. He hit his drive in a bunker. He then, hit a nonchalant second shot, then a short wedge shot to 30 feet that he absolutely did not give any measurable effort.

Okay, Tiger Woods can two putt from 30-feet with his eyes closed. He didn't two putt, didn't three-putt, he FOUR PUTTED for double bogey.

"I don't care anymore, just get me to the clubhouse," Faldo chimed, as if he was trying to read Woods' mind.

He did manage to par in, but as he approached the final green head down, you could see a shaken man. He was a lost player.

This was in no shape or form the player who has manhandled the world of golf.

He flat out gave up.

He's missed cuts in the past, but has always fallen with his guns blazing, grinding away and if he missed the cut, it was barely.

Nothing barely about this.

Write a song about it: The Wreck of the Edmund Woods-gerald.

Tiger Woods crashed and burned.

At some point, the collapse of his life had to effect him.

"He had a presence, an aura," Faldo said of Woods.

There was no presence, no aura on Friday.

Woods' game looked frail and uncertain.

"My short game was terrible," he lamented as he left the final green.

It was ugly.

It was amazing to see.

"I was frustrated, I didn't have much," said Woods, who has never missed a cut by such a large margin.

Rounds of 74-79. Horrible at the least. He was 17 behind 36-hole leader Billy Mayfair.

Said Woods:

"It is what it is."

Spoken like a man who gave up.