Tiger Woods at Memorial Tournament 2015: Friday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
Tiger Woods' tee shots still seemed allergic to the fairway during the second round of the 2015 Memorial Tournament on Friday. Luckily for the event's five-time winner, he rode a red-hot putter to a two-under round of 70 to move just clear of the cut line at one under overall.
Woods endured a forgettable first nine holes Thursday but has rebounded fairly well over the next 27. While he still walked off the course 11 strokes off the lead, held by David Lingmerth, it's better than an early exit from Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Let's check out his second round, which still featured some drama despite the improved score, played out with a glance at the scorecard. That's followed by the tournament leaderboard and a recap of the action from Day 2.
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Round 2 Scorecard
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Strokes | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 33 |
| Overall | E | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | - |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Strokes | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 37 |
| Overall | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -3 | -3 | -2 | -1 | -1 | - |
Current Leaderboard
Friday Recap
It was difficult to project what version of Woods would show up for Round 2. He endured a wild trip around Muirfield on Thursday, posting a 40 over his first nine holes (he started on the back side) before rebounding with a 33 on the front half to finish at one over par.
Afterward, Steve DiMeglio of USA Today passed along comments from the 14-major champion, who admitted the round was mentally taxing:
"I didn't have much with my game. I need to work on it here a little bit. But I fought hard to get back. And to get it back on a golf course like that, it was pretty good work. Physically, I feel good. Mentally, I feel beat up.
"
His start Friday was far more encouraging. He opened with back-to-back birdies and added another one on the fourth to quickly shave three strokes off his score. The early surge brought him back on the right side of the cut line.
Justin Ray of the Golf Channel illustrated how impressive the stretch was for Woods:
Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel joked about the impact that type of play from him can have:
Woods was still erratic off the tee at the outset, often finding the right rough, but the misses weren't nearly as bad as they were early in the opening round. He recovered to give himself some mid-range putts for birdie and connected to build some momentum.
After that, he jumped aboard the par train for the rest of the front nine. He was still having trouble finding the fairway, but the rest of his game was strong enough to make up the difference. If that hadn't been the case, it could have quickly turned into a disastrous afternoon.
The Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker provided stats as he made the turn:
His return to the troublesome back nine got off to an inauspicious start. His tee shot flew into the right rough—the silver lining is that it was mostly a one-way miss Friday—and he wasn't able to scramble well enough to save par.
Dan Hauser of CountryClubsInFlorida.com opined about how the inability to maintain a high level of play has become a hallmark for Woods as of late:
Woods did well to avoid letting the setback snowball on him, though. He parred the 11th after getting himself in trouble off the tee, and then his putting took center stage again at the par-three 12th.
From just inside 20 feet, he nailed a birdie putt to get the lost stoke back, per the PGA Tour:
He added another birdie on No. 14 to give himself some breathing room ahead of the cut line. A lackluster approach shot was quickly forgotten as he sank a putt from just inside 30 feet.
The tension began to rise after that. He posted back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th to fall back level with the cut line. He missed his target off the tee both times, and—unlike earlier in the round—the putter wasn't able to bail him out.
He averted a total meltdown with a nice up-and-down finish on the 18th, capped off by a five-foot putt to save the round.
Tilghman noted the ending was similar to that at The Players Championship last month:
"For the 2nd straight start, Tiger Woods makes a clutch putt to survive the cut on the number.
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) June 5, 2015"
The Tiger Tracker wrapped up the first two days:
If Woods is going to get back into contention, he'll need to showcase old-school Tiger over the weekend. It's not impossible, especially considering his past success in the event, to imagine his making a charge. The inconsistency of his play reduces the likelihood, though.
One thing he must do is start taking better advantage of the par fives. At his peak, his ability to make those almost-automatic birdies was a crucial part of his dominance. Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports noted his lack of success on those holes so far this week:
In the bigger picture, making it to the weekend is a success. He needs to get more competitive tournament rounds under his belt after playing a light schedule following the Masters. It's hard to play once a month and then expect to contend at the majors.
Woods will get two more rounds under his belt on a course he thrives on when playing well. Everything else is a bonus.
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