Tiger Woods needed some help, but will just make the cut at the Genesis Invitational despite shooting a three-over-par 74 in his second round Friday.
Woods went out fast on Thursday to record a two-under 69 in his first competitive round in seven months, but found Friday’s round more testing, slipping to one-over, where he flirted with the cut line for much of the evening.
When Woods finished his round, it appeared one-over might just miss out on a spot at the weekend, but the 15-time major winner will have been delighted to see the cut line slip back to +1, giving him the chance to play on Saturday and Sunday.
Bad light stopped play with a few men still to card their second round score, but it is not expected to further adjust the cut line.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Max Homa earned himself the solo lead with a three-under 68 to take him to -10 overall.
Tiger Woods was in danger of missing the cut after finishing one-over, but he just got through
The icon headed into the clubhouse T-68 at the Genesis Invitational in California on Friday
The 47-year-old was given another rousing reception on 10 from the gathered fans
For Woods, meanwhile, it appeared the wear and tear of Riviera began to take his toll as he bogeyed three of his last four holes to slip down the leaderboard.
Woods hit the fairways in front of an adoring crowd again on Friday, alongside playing partners Rory McIlroy, who came in T-7 at six under, and Justin Thomas, T-33 at one-under.
Teeing off on the back nine for round two, Woods had the chance to get off to a hot start, setting up two early birdie chances but while his long game was still sizzling, it appeared his putter needed to heat up as failed to capitalize.
He was made to rue those wasted chances on 12 as two wayward shots from the tee and the rough saw him end up sandy and despite an impressive attempt from the greenside bunker, Woods’s putter failed him once again and he couldn’t save par.
Just as the wind looked to have been snatched out of his sails with yet another bogey on 13, the ever-resilient legend bounced back with the perfect strike from the tee box on 14.
Woods riled up the bleary-eyed crowd with a near ace. Landing in the perfect spot, it rolled within a foot of a hole and an easy tap in for his first birdie of the day. Textbook Tiger.
Another missed birdie putt on the par-three 16th followed but Woods showed glimpses of his heyday with a fantastic approach to the 17th green, sticking the landing to claw his way back to two-under.
Wrapping up the front nine with another par on 18, Woods headed into the turn even for the day but in the knowledge he could’ve been well into the red for his second round.
Woods, steady and measured, went on a run of pars through his back nine until he hit a huge hurdle on six.
His tee shot flirted with staying up on the upper level but in seeming slow-motion trickled back down the slope to the front edge of the green.
The 15-time major winner slumped to back-to-back bogeys to finish at Riviera Country Club
Woods matched his playing partners Rory McIlroy (C) and Justin Thomas (R) stride-for-stride
The star was made to rue two missed putts for birdie on his opening two holes of the day
Going wayward off the tee on 12, Woods failed to save par, dropping his first shot of the day
Instead of hitting a pitch shot that could have had the superintendent in tears, he surprisingly took out his putter – a move which practically guaranteed bogey as the ball skimmed the left side of the dreaded sixth-green bunker, curled around the lip and dropped back into the sand.
But, in what can arguably be dubbed a sand save, Woods managed to minimize the damage to just a bogey, hitting it out of the bunker and sinking the following putt.
But it was the start of a downwards spiral as bogeys on eight and nine followed, leaving him below the projected cut line.
After the Genesis Invitational, Woods will be hoping to head to the Players’ Championship at TPC Sawgrass next month before a return to Augusta for the first major of the year – The Masters.
Woods managed just nine rounds in 2022 because of complications around the limb-threatening injuries he sustained in his car crash the previous year.
The Tiger fan club was out in force on the fairways of Riviera to follow the golfing icon
Woods showed glimpses of his heyday with a fantastic approach to the 17th green
Most recently that meant the 47-year-old needed to withdraw from December’s Hero World Challenge owing to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, however he did play later that month alongside his son Charlie at the two-round PNC Championship, where players are allowed to use buggies.
‘The plantar fasciitis is no fun, and now I get to truly recover and heal and progress forward on this because there’s so many good things that I’ve been able to do physically, to be able to hit the golf ball and practice and do everything in a standstill,’ Woods said of the issue back on December 18.
‘But I haven’t been able to get from point A to point B, and obviously going to work on this.’
Woods is the tournament host of the longtime event at Riviera Country Club, where he made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992 but which he has never won as a professional.
It may be a stretch to see him earn that accolade this weekend, but just him standing on the first tee box on Saturday is a near-miraculous achievement in itself.
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