No. 1 problem for Woods
First-hole struggles lead to veteran missing the cut
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The No. 1 hole at Shinnecock Hills is pretty straightforward, a 399-yard par 4 that, through two days of the U.S. Open, ranks as the fourth easiest on the course.
But for Tiger Woods, it was hell.
A day after taking a triple bogey on the hole, Woods carded a double on it Friday, setting the tone for his 2-over-par 72 that left him 10 over. Playing in his first U.S. Open since 2015, he failed to make the cut.
On Friday, he hit an iron off the tee down the right side, then mishit his second shot into the deep grass. He landed his next shot on the green, but the ball rolled off the back and down a slope. He punched past the hole and then came up short on a midrange comeback putt for bogey.
Woods hit 11 of 14 fairways and half the greens in regulation. He was particularly disappointed with his putting.
“I’m hitting it just fine,” he said. “I have not made any putts, and then, importantly, I haven’t made those key ones to keep the momentum going. Or if I have the positive momentum, I miss a putt and derail it. I just haven’t made those key putts in the last few events.”
This U.S. Open was a reminder to Woods of how difficult these major championships are — and how remarkable it is he collected 14 such victories earlier in his career.
“They’re not easy,” he said. “I’ve won a few of Tiger Woods finished the second round at 10 over for the tournament and missed the cut. them over the course of my career, and they’re the hardest fields and usually the hardest setups. So they’re meant to be testers. … You don’t win major championships by kind of slapping around all over the place and missing putts. You have to be on.”
The tall grass at Shinnecock is difficult enough. But when it’s wet, it can latch onto clubs like a hundred tentacles. Spectators caught a glimpse of that Friday when Russell Henley struggled to hack his way out of that marsh on the third hole, taking a triple bogey.
“Maybe I should have practiced that shot more, just chipping out in the practice rounds,” said Henley, who was tied for the lead after the first round but dropped into a tie for ninth at 2 over. “I would have much rather been plugged in a bunker or anywhere else. If I would have hit it 20 more yards offline I probably would have been OK. But if you hit it just off the fairway, it’s not very good.”
The low amateur through two rounds is Will Grimmer, a rising senior at Ohio State. He’s at 5 over after shooting a 2-over 72 on Friday, putting him safely under the cut line.
“Going into this week my goal was to make the cut and play all four days,” said Grimmer, who shot a 77 and 80 at Pinehurst as a wideeyed 17-year-old in 2014. “Now I have, so I’m going to get to play the full tournament.
“It’s going to be a totally different feeling playing in the biggest tournament in the country, the U.S. Open, Saturday and Sunday. The crowds are going to be bigger. The pins are going to be tougher, the greens are going to be firmer and faster. It’s going to be a different ballgame.”
Among the feel-good stories of this major is Matt Parziale, a firefighter from Brockton, Mass., who qualified as an amateur. He shot a 73 on Friday, a stroke better than his first round, to make the cut at 7 over.
Parziale tried to scratch out a living as a touring pro after college but gave up on that dream after a few years. He returned to Brockton — hometown of legendary boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler — and got a job in the same firehouse his father worked at for 30 years. His dad is his caddie.
He regained his amateur status, won the U.S. MidAmateur last fall and played at the Masters this year, shooting 81-79 and failing to make the cut. He’s the first Mid-Am champion to make the cut at the U.S. Open in 15 years. It was a birdie putt on 18 that put him in safe position.
“When I hit it, I knew I had good pace on it,” Parziale said. “Maybe a little soft, and it just fell over the edge. I knew it was a good line.”