Tiger still in hunt after fluctuation
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The signs came early.
They were loud and clear that it was not going to be Tiger Woods’ day.
Woods, amid a remarkable comeback from a car accident that jeopardized his right leg just 14 months ago, started his second round of the Masters poorly.
Quickly, Woods went from being in contention after the first round to in jeopardy of not making the cut. He was 4-over par through the first five holes. He moved from the 1-under par where he started the day to 3-over par just like that.
The first sign came when Woods’ opening tee shot landed in the fairway bunker at No. 1. His approach finished right of the green and he was unable to get up-and-down. Even from -1.
From there, Woods: No. 2: Saved par from the fairway bunker. Even.
No. 3: Couldn’t get upand-down after he missed the green from the fairway. Even to +1.
No. 4: Couldn’t get upand-down after his tee shot landed short and right of green. +1 to +2.
No. 5: Needed to play back into the fairway after his tee shot found the right woods and need two putts after getting on the green. +2 to +3.
“Well, it was windy,” Woods said. “It was swirling. Balls were oscillating on the greens. We got a couple of bad gusts. I hit a couple of bad shots. I hit a decent shot at (No.) 4 that ended up and down in a divot, and it was just like — there were so many things that were not going my way. It was partly the conditions and partly me.”
This is Tiger Woods. There would be no going gently into that early trip home to watch the rest of the tournament on television. This is Augusta National. Any comeback would not come easy. The roller coaster of a round nearly continued right to the end.
No. 8: Got up-and-down from just off the green. +3 to +2.
No. 10: Stopped his approach shot to three feet of the cup for an easy birdie. +2 to +1.
It went up.
No. 11: Couldn’t get upand-down from just short of the green. From +1 to +2.
No. 12: Couldn’t get upand-down after his tee shot flew the green and rolled back into the bunker from the azaleas. From +2 to +3. It went down.
No. 13: Got up-and-down after his second shot finished short of Rae’s Creek for a birdie. From +3 to +2.
No. 14: Made nine-foot birdie putt. From +2 to +1.
From there, Woods parred the final four holes. Woods at 1-over par (71-74) will be around for the weekend after all.
“Well, I don’t feel as good as I would like to feel,” he said. “That’s OK. As I said, I’ve got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I’ll have one of those light bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done.”