Tiger misses cut, turns focus to defending Masters crown

Tiger Woods is leaving Winged Foot early once again.

The hunt for his 16th major championship, and fourth U.S. Open title, ended Friday after Woods shot a 7-over 77 in the second round and fell to 10-over overall, missing the cut by four strokes.

“It’s frustrating that I’m not going to be here for the weekend and be able to compete for this great championship,” Woods said. “It feels like the way the golf course is changing, is turning, that anybody who makes the cut has the opportunity to win this championship. I didn’t give myself that opportunity.”

Double bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes sent Woods spiraling down the leaderboard before he even made the turn, denying him a chance to pass Sam Snead for the outright lead in all-time PGA Tour victories.

For the second straight day, the par-4 18th hole was a nightmare for Woods. His drive there Friday found the bunker and his second shot rolled off the front of the green. It set up a chip that he got underneath and his ball rolled back down the hill again to nearly the same spot. He finally got back on the green to stay on his fourth shot and then two-putted to take another double bogey.

The 44-year-old, who has won 15 majors, wasn’t able to save his tournament on the front nine, bogeying four more holes. He did flash a smile on the fourth hole after sinking a par putt to the cheer of a small crowd that had gathered in a nearby backyard. It was a brief escape — along with birdies on the par-3 seventh and par-5 ninth — in an otherwise frustrating round in which Woods hit just five of 14 fairways and made nine of 18 greens in regulation.

“Physically, it was frustrating that I didn’t drive the ball as well as I needed to,” he said. “Iron play was pretty much the way it has been. It’s been good, and I finally putted well. But on this golf course it’s imperative that you hit fairways, and I did not do that.”

Woods also missed the cut at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, but that tournament came just over a month after the death of Woods’ father, Earl.

Now, Woods will give his surgically repaired back some rest, before trying to defend his last two wins — the Zozo Championship in October and, of course, The Masters in November.

“We have a couple big, big things ahead of us,” Woods said.