Tiger Woods spent months thinking about the St Andrews Open. He did everything in his power to make sure he made it onto the old course for the 150th participation in golf’s oldest major tournament.
Once in Scotland, he did everything he could to make a solid tour. He did more on-site training than he did in the other two disciplines he played – Masters and the PGA Championship. Then he skipped the US Open just to make sure he was ready for the Open.
However, his game never responded when it counted. Woods followed his opening 78th round with ** to miss the cut.
Here’s how his second round landed:
No. 1: Par 4, 375 yards
The first hole is in St. Andrews is a lot easier when the opening tee doesn’t fall into new territory. Woods Thursday’s ball found a hole, the second ball caught in the burn and out of a horrific double bogey. There are no breaks on Friday, and things went much more smoothly. The green’s safe approach and better speed with the racket resulted in a calm tie.
result: par
Total for the day: until
Tournament total: 6 more
No. 2: Bar 4, 452 yards
Woods, walking with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders tense, looks cool on a cold Scottish morning. Although, early on in his run, his swing appears to be free. A powerful engine and controlled iron approach gave him a good shot at Birdie. But the 20-foot owner is invisible. Some of those — and a lot of them — will have to get in if Woods is to make the cuts.
result: par
Total for the day: until
Tournament total: 6 more
No. 3: Par 4, 398 yards
Although he only had 101 yards on his second shot, Woods wasn’t messing about with a left front pin tucked into third. Play away from the hole and face 25 feet for the bird. The racket, which caused him all kinds of trouble on Thursday, is working so far on Friday. He made the slam dunk to reach the red numbers for the day.
The tiger has finally got one to take down#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/4PyYIo7Ovs
– TheOpen July 15 2022
result: Birdie
Total for the day: 1 under
Tournament total: 5 more
No. 4: Par 4, 480 yards
Woods hated his second shot. How do we know? Well, he rammed his baton to the ground while the approach was still in the air. This wouldn’t be the last time he got angry at the pit. A big hit out of the green left him with a little 3-footer in par. He missed it.
result: ghost
Total for the day: until
Tournament total: 6 more
No. 5: Par 5, 570 yards
Woods crashed into a tall 3-timber tree in the green. The ball rests 6 feet from the pin. One problem: It was the wrong pin. The fifth is one of the double greens in the old field. It is shared with thirteenth. So Woods’ ball slammed into the green and kept going. When he finally stopped, he was 7 feet from hole 13 but 117 feet from hole 5. The eagle’s ridiculously long hit came at 10 feet tall. The most manageable jumper on the left side missed.
Only in St Andrews… #The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/F5Jl1X4hrS
– TheOpen July 15 2022
result: par
Total for the day: until
Tournament total: 6 more
No. 6: Par 4, 414 yards
Woods moved well in his surgically repaired right leg during his time in Scotland. But the most obvious gloom and lameness of the week came after his stray bullet ended up in one of the many shelters in the driveway. He didn’t have a chance to get to the green and simply went down. By the time it was all over, he put another ghost on the scorecard.
result: ghost
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 7: Bar 4, 371 yards
Woods discarded the jacket, as the rain of spit calmed after a dreary early morning. But his game was not bright. He only had 97 yards left for his second shot, but he hit the peg on the wrong side of the slope to leave a birdie strike longer than required.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 8: 3 bar, 187 yards
Perhaps for the first time ever, Woods played a boring hole punch. He found the middle of the green. He narrowly missed 30 feet for the bird. par.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 9: Par 4, 352 yards
There was a lot of standing on the tee with the support of the play. Woods’ drive settled a short distance to the right of the green. Then the problem that plagued him during the first 27 holes of this major tournament surfaced again. Woods had a hard time judging speed when he shot or played shots into the field from around the green. His efforts in the ninth came very short. Instead of an adjustable birdie strike, he had another 25 feet — which he missed.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 10: Par 4, 386 yards
Woods started what will likely be his last nine holes in competitive golf for a while with a bonus routine. Fairway hit. green center. Double-striking drama-free.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 11: 3 bar, 174 yards
Woods was cautious with his approach shots for most of his second round. He seemed content to head toward the green center. Well, he went fishing for flags on the eleventh. But the tee shot fell short and fell into the vault of the great pot. Despite this, Woods blasted it to 12 feet and made the knockout punch for an unlikely bounty.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 13: Par 4, 465 yards
Woods cannot know the green speeds. His second shot in the green took a huge bounce, leaving him with 40 feet for the birdie. Once again, the beating path left, too short. He made 6ft for equality, but, again, it was a lot more than it should have been.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 14: Par 5, 614 yards
Ordinarily, Woods would probably have been satisfied with a 370-yard drive, even if she ended up in the hay next to the fairway. That, even compare it to what he did the day before, when he hit 412 yards. On Friday, a second shot found another famous cache in St Andrews. He turned that 412-yard car on Thursday into a birdie. He couldn’t do the same with the 370-yard blast on Friday.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 15: Bar 4, 455 yards
Another hole, another tall bird. This came after Woods skipped a short wedge approach after the hole. It nearly broke through the 77 feet, but it came in a roll or two.
result: par
Total for the day: 1 more
Tournament total: 7 more
No. 16: Par 4, 418 yards
The good news? Woods’ constructed iron mistook the 16th green, but it did not go into the vault. Bad news? I did his chip shot. One explosion and another loss resulted in an ugly weakness.
result: double ghost
Total for the day: 3 more
Tournament total: 9 more
No. 18: Par 4, 356 yards
Nobody knows if this was his last trip around St Andrews, except perhaps Tiger Woods. But Woods is overwhelmed walking across the Suilkan Bridge and up to the final driveway. He wiped his tears as he tilted his hat and waved to the adorable crowd lining the old stadium. And it gave them something to cheer using just a perfect mini golf chip on the splines with a 4-iron to short range. But, in keeping with the way his week went, he hit the bird.
All the emotions watching Tiger Woods climb No. 18 in St Andrews 👏
(Across @open) pic.twitter.com/F7f5leoamn
– ESPN (espn) July 15 2022
result: par
Total for the day: 3 over 75
Tournament total: 9 more
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