Tiger Woods at Players Championship 2015: Friday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
After an up-and-down first round at the 2015 Players Championship, Tiger Woods had a similarly inconsistent second round on Friday, as he finished with a one-under 71, which puts him at even par for the tournament.
When the 14-time major champion entered the clubhouse, the projected cut line was at even, which means he is expected to make the cut.
Here is a look at the 39-year-old superstar's scorecard from an eventful second round, courtesy of PGATour.com:
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Status | +1 | E | E | +1 | E | E | +1 | +1 | E | E |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 |
| Status | +1 | E | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | E | E | E | E |
ESPN Stats & Info noted that historically, Woods' second round at the Players is his best:
Woods traded birdies and bogeys throughout much of the day as pars were few and far between. He started his day on the back nine with a par on the 10th hole, but his scorecard was quite colorful after that.
Even his pars were an adventure, though, as Woods' first tee shot of the day wasn't exactly representative of a future Hall of Famer, according to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel:
Following a birdie on the 11th, Woods proceeded to card two bogeys in a row. As seen in this video, courtesy of the PGA Tour's official Twitter account, the legendary golfer missed a fairly routine putt on the 13th:
Things weren't looking great for him at that point, but the odds were already stacked against him following a one-over round Thursday. Per ESPN Stats & Info, no golfer had bounced back from such a slow start to win The Players Championship in 14 years:
That didn't stop Woods from continuing to grind his way through the round, though. He birdied the 15th and 16th holes, which put him at a respectable even par for the tournament. After closing out his opening nine holes with a pair of pars, things started to go south a bit on the front nine.
Over the next five holes, Woods posted two bogeys, two birdies and a par. He simply couldn't get into any sort of rhythm, which is something he lamented after the first round, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today:
"Probably the highest score I could have shot today. I didn't get much out of that round. I hit the ball better than I than (sic) the score indicates, and I got a couple good breaks and never took advantage of them. Just really struggled hitting the putts hard enough to get them to the hole. Even when I tried to ram them, I still didn't get the ball to the hole, so I need to make a better adjustment on that.
"
Even though his struggles continued in that regard, he had himself positioned to make the cut as he entered the final four holes. Unfortunately, a bogey on the seventh hole put him a stroke below the projected cut line.
Woods parred the eighth hole, which meant a birdie was likely needed on the ninth in order to play into the weekend, as explained by the Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker:
Woods gave himself a chance with a birdie putt from roughly nine feet away, but his recent performance suggested he was more likely to miss it than make it, per Justin Ray of GolfChannel.com:
Even so, he managed to dig deep and come through with one of his signature clutch moments as he drained the putt and probably extended his tournament in the process.
While it was a great moment, the Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman pointed out it was a far cry from the former world No. 1's past glory:
"Hard to believe we're saying this but Tiger Woods just fist pumped after a birdie putt to make the cut.
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) May 8, 2015"
After missing so much time over the past couple of years due to injury, though, Woods simply needs some positive steps in order to make himself a contender at majors again.
He was in the mix at the Masters before a tough final round, and he seems to be building upon that performance to some degree. If he manages to close out The Players Championship with a strong weekend, perhaps he will be a threat when the U.S. Open comes around in June.
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