Tiger Woods in Danger of Missing U.S. PGA Championship Cut at 7-Over Par

Tiger Woods is 7-over par midway through the second round at the U.S. PGA Championship and may not advance to weekend play at a major tournament for the third time as a professional.

Woods, a four-time PGA Championship winner, is even par through nine holes today after shooting a 7-over 77 yesterday at Atlanta Athletic Club. It was his worst first-round score in one of golf’s four Grand Slam events.
The projected cut line is 4-over par, with the top 70 and ties qualifying for the final two rounds.

If it doesn’t change, Woods would have to shoot 3-under for his final nine holes today to make the cut at the tournament for the 14th straight time. The second nine holes at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course were more difficult than the first nine yesterday, playing an average of 1.8 strokes above par.

Woods was 9-over par before making birdies at the eighth and ninth holes. He’s 13 strokes behind leader Steve Stricker.

The 35-year-old Woods last failed to qualify for weekend play in a major at the 2009 British Open. His only other missed cut at a major as a professional was at the 2006 U.S. Open. Woods missed the cut at the 1996 Masters Tournament as an amateur.

Woods is winless since November 2009 and may be ineligible for the U.S. PGA Tour playoffs should he miss the weekend in Atlanta. A two-time FedEx Cup winner as the PGA Tour’s season- long points champion, Woods entered the PGA Championship ranked 129th.

The top 125 players qualify for the Barclays tournament, the first playoff event, which starts Aug. 25 in Plainfield, New Jersey. Woods previously said he won’t play in next week’s tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, because of family commitments.

Source: Bloomberg