Tiger Woods has again missed the cut at a major tournament.
With an expected cut line of +5 at the ongoing Open Championship at Royal Troon, Woods is almost certain to be out of the tournament after posting a +14 in the first two rounds.
Woods’ bad Friday included a double bogey on the second hole and bogeys on the fifth, ninth, twelfth, fourteenth and seventeenth holes.
So far this year, Woods has missed the cut at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky and the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
Woods, still battling injuries, also underperformed at the Masters, finishing +16, including a horrendous 82 in his third round.
Tiger Woods plays from the 3rd fairway during day two of The Open at Royal Troon
Despite his declining play, Tiger Woods still drew an impressive crowd at Royal Troon
His early departure from Royal Troon followed a heated debate with retired player and commentator Colin Montgomerie, who questioned the golf legend’s presence at the tournament.
Montgomerie said in an interview with The Times on Saturday that Woods’ best days are behind him. He recalled watching the 15-time major champion speed around the U.S. Open course at Pinehurst last month and wondering, “What the hell is he doing?”
“He still thinks he can win,” Montgomerie said. “We’re more realistic.”
Woods was defiant (“As a former champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60”), but ultimately failed to prove he belonged in that tournament, starting with a tough first round on Thursday.
Woods hit his first drive from the first tee 225 yards, hitting the first patch of rough on the right side of the fairway.
He came close to birdie on the opening shot but fired his attempt within two feet for a tap-in par before ending up in the red on the third hole.
But the battle, once a shock but now a regular sight, began at the fourth.
Royal Troon immediately took the ball back from Tiger on the fourth hole, but he missed the chance at a par-five before landing in the black with a double-bogey five on the par-three fifth hole.
His two birdies were no match for a total of six bogeys, including two consecutive ones on 17 and 18 to end his round, and two doubles, including a trip to the train tracks on 11 when an opening score of 79 dashed his hopes.
And he wasn’t the only former champion to struggle in the first round: Cameron Smith (+9), Rory McIlroy (+7) and Louis Oosthuizen (+7) were all overwhelmed at Royal Troon on Thursday.
Woods reiterated his goal earlier this week to tame Troon for his 16th major victory, a goal he is confident his war-torn body can still achieve.
Yet the stats tell a different story. The golf icon missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and the US Open, and despite battling through to the weekend at the Masters, he finished in 60th and last place.
Woods’ message, however, remained the same as he had preached for the past two years: He wouldn’t show up unless he believed he had a chance to win.
And ahead of this week’s tournament, he turned his angry gaze on those who asked why we should expect anything different on a course he admitted would “eat you up” if conditions changed.
