PGA TOUR: Saturday Morning Report: Quail Hollow Is Tiger Less

Featured Columnist Andy Reistetter is on site in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Quail Hollow Championship,

The associated video will be available shortly on YouTube.com at the following link:

Good morning- this is Andy Reistetter from the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina with the Saturday Morning Report.

As promised, the Battle of Quail Hollow will go four rounds, maybe more.

Sadly though it will be without the world's No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is out cold recording the worse opening 36 holes of his professional career.

His 74-79 performance bested only 10 players in the 156 man field and was only the sixth time he missed the cut in 241 starts as a professional.

Woods had back-to-back double-bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 shooting 43 on the back nine.

He is headed down to Ponte Vedra Beach early to work on his game before next week's PLAYERS Championship.

He took one step forward with a fourth place finish at the Masters two weeks ago.

This is his step backwards before stepping on the gas like he did last year when he came back from reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

Remember the next two majors are at Pebble Beach and the Old Course at St. Andrews where Tiger has won big before.

Instead of Phil vs. Tiger we may very well see a battle between the last two Masters champions.

Angel Cabrera and the recuperated Mickelson freshly recovered from another stomach virus.

Beware of the ill golfer.

Just ask Nick Watney who Phil beat in a sickly manner last year in the World Golf Championship at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

Could Phil win another one right after the Masters?

He has done it before- in fact four times.

The most recent was after winning his last major, the Masters in 2006.

If Phil wins here and wins his second PLAYERS Championship next week he could become the No. 1 golfer in the world.

Imagine that.

What a Lefty hook that would be!

Billy Mayfair is leading this tournament with a pair of 68s.

Mayfair won the Qualifier on Monday and the five-time PGA TOUR winner has not had a Top 10 since 2008.

The last Monday Open Qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR was Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open.

In his two best finishes here at Quail Hollow he shot 67 on Sunday to finish solo 10^th in 2005 and another 67 on Saturday to finish T10 in 2007  .

A pair of 67s this weekend would surely win this one for Mayfair.

Cabrera is one stroke back playing like the Masters and U.S. Open champion that he is.

Paired with Woods the first two days he beat the World No. 1 by 16 strokes.

He is a tough competitor. Expect him to be in the hunt on Sunday afternoon.

Tied two strokes back with Mickelson is J. P. Hayes, Paul Goydos and South Carolina's own Dustin Johnson.

Hayes went 74-64 tying the tournament record low round.

Goydos nearly won the 2008 PLAYERS Championship when Sergio Garcia beat him in a playoff on the island green 17^thhole at TPC Sawgrass.

Dustin Johnson went 73-65 to vault up the leader board.

Remember the champions at Quail Hollow have signaled a changing of the guard on the PGA TOUR.

The last two winners, Anthony Kim and Sean O'Hair have been their 20s.

DJ is 25 and not too far behind him are 28-year old Camilo Villegas, 27-year old local native Bill Haas, 29-year old Nick Watney and 24-year old Anthony Kim.

Don't forget soon-to-be 40 year old Jim Furyk, twice a winner in the last five weeks on tour who is only four strokes back.

As the scores indicate it has been a topsy-turvy tournament here at Quail Hollow.

First round leaders Bo Van Pelt went 65-76 and Kenny Perry went 66-79.

With the cut coming at 1-over 145 and 77 players advancing to the weekend the only thing we know for sure is that Tiger Woods is out.

With the exception of the majors, the Quail Hollow Championship has featured the most difficult three finishing holes on the PGA TOUR six out of the last seven years.

Look for the battle to continue today and carryover to Sunday afternoon.

The Green Mile could become The Last Mile and determine who is the last man standing at Quail Hollow come Sunday afternoon.

This is Andy Reistetter reporting from the golfing scene of the times- good golfing and good living to you my friends.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]