Honda Classic 2012: Tiger Woods Dodging Cut Isn't a Victory for Fallen Star

Low goals translate to low rewards.

Tiger Woods snuck past the second-round cut at the 2012 Honda Classic, but still being alive is no cause for celebration.  Woods’ name demands higher expectations than just getting by.

The Palm Beach Post’s Matt Porter reported that Tiger spoke to the press after day two and said:

"

“Well, I got it going, lost it, got it going, lost it, got it going.  It was a little bit of a fight today, probably the worst I've hit the ball in months, but I managed to score.  I told Joey [LaCava, his caddy] that on the last couple holes, if we go birdie-birdie, we'll be within 7 [strokes of the lead], and that's really doable on this golf course.  Guys, they don't really go all that low, so if we can post low under par, we'll be right in it.”

"

At one-under, Tiger isn’t exactly “right in it.”  After the second day, Tom Gillis and Justin Rose are tied at eight-under while Rory McIlroy and Dicky Pride are on their tails at seven-under.  Tied for 31^st, Woods has plenty of ground to make up and the fact that he had to pull off a dramatic finish just to keep playing isn’t a good sign.

When an athlete, or anyone for that matter, sets the bar low, naturally, they will reap low rewards.  After Woods struggled early, he was forced to focus on not winning the Honda Classic, but staying alive.

No one is fooled; fans aren’t watching the Tiger of old.  He pulled off an impressive finish on Friday, but his bar simply isn’t high enough right now. 

Now, I’m not suggesting that he doesn’t have his eyes set on the "W,"  but Woods isn’t strong enough at this point in his career to pull himself up from the ledge that he barely managed to hang on to.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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