Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship on Friday following a second round of seven-over par 79, his worst round since shooting 81 in the third round of the British Open in 2002.
Woods had six bogeys, two double-bogeys and three birdies. On the 15th hole, he four-putted for double bogey.
It marked only the seventh time as a professional that he has missed the cut.
-- John Strege
SAUCIER, MISS. -- Rust? What rust?
Jodie Mudd, playing in his first tour event in 14 years, started his Champions Tour career at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in textbook style.
Mudd drove in the fairway on the 543-yard par-5 first hole at Fallen Oak, placed his second in ideal position 40 yards short of the green then wedged to 12 feet. He broke into a broad smile and got congratulations from fellow competitor Bob Gilder after rolling in the birdie putt.
Competing for the first time since the 1996 Buick Invitational, the 50-year-old Kentucky native couldn't sustain the magical start, finishing in the front nine in three-over 39.
-- Bill Fields
The good news is that the LPGA is on network television this weekend (CBS, Saturday and Sunday, 2 to 3 p.m. EDT). The bad news is that it's airing the Mojo 6, which was played two weeks ago, rather than the Tres Marias Championship.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't qualify as a negative. The LPGA needs coverage whenever it can get it. And the Mojo 6 and its raceway format is an intriguing concept. But the Tres Marias Championship is Lorena Ochoa's farewell to full-time golf and she's in contention to boot. Moreover, Michelle Wie also is in contention, as is Japan's Ai Miyazota, already a two-time winner this year and a contender for the No. 1 ranking in Ochoa's absence.
The Tres Marias would be a more attractive offering on television. Instead, it's another example of a tour that can't catch a break.
-- John Strege
Tiger Woods opened with a two-over par 74 in the Quail Hollow Championship, his worst round since shooting a 75 in the final round of the PGA Championship to lose to Y.E. Yang by three shots.
Woods had four birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 17th hole.
-- John Strege
Colin Montgomerie is notorious for allowing noise on the golf course to get the best him and it did so again in the first round of the Spanish Open on Thursday. Montgomerie seemed to blame an 18th-hole bogey on music coming from a nearby hospitality tent.
"Is this a (bleeping) party or a golf tournament?" he said after signing for a one-under par 71 that left him six shots off the lead.
He no doubt would not be amused to know that the leader, Paul Waring, was a former disc jockey, as the Telegraph pointed out.
-- John Strege
Phil Mickelson withdrew from the Quail Hollow Championship Pro-Am after six holes today. He was ill in his hotel last night and today called for assistance on the fifth hole. He was brought to the on-course medical center following the sixth hole and was treated for dehydration.
At this point, he fully expects to compete tomorrow. Mickelson is scheduled to tee off at 12:50 p.m.
Last year Mickelson was treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration prior to the final round of the CA Championship at Doral Golf Resort and Spa.
-- Jim Moriarty
Originally denied his request for a sponsor exemption in the St. Jude Classic the week before the U.S. Open, Lee Westwood has now received one in the aftermath of a flap he created with a simple gesture.
Westwood, the No. 4-ranked player in the world, was asked earlier this week why the St. Jude Classic failed to provide a sponsor exemption. He pointed to a UPS logo on his shirt. The St. Jude Classic has long had an association with UPS' rival FedEx, which was the presenting sponsor in 2009 and the title sponsor from 1986 to 2006.
"He's happy and we're happy," St. Jude Classic tournament director Phil Cannon told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "He's very grateful. Our friends at FedEx want to make it clear they have no say in the matter and they would welcome Lee in the field. So we'll call an end to this little hiccup and go on."
-- John Strege
Tiger Woods seemed at ease answering questions in his Wednesday press conference at Quail Hollow following his early-morning pro-am round. While nothing earth-shattering came out of the Q&A session, the world's No. 1 golfer had some interesting things to say.
In response to how he's evaluated his return at the Masters in the two weeks since: "Given a little time to reflect on it, it was an incredible week."
He added, "fourth place was pretty reasonable."
When asked if things seemed to be getting back to normal this week, he said, "It feels a heck of a lot more normal than the Masters did."
Woods confirmed that during the practice round, he was trying out a new ball for later in the season. He didn't offer many details other than the inner layer is harder and the outside is softer.
Woods also said that he was in Asheville yesterday to check on his course-design project at The Cliffs. He noted that he's still gettting offers to do more course design.
Woods will tee off in Thursday's first round at 7:40 a.m. with Stewart Cink and Angel Cabrera.
-- Alex Myers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Although much was made of Tiger Woods' use of Graphite Design's 75-gram Tour AD DI shaft at the Masters, it appears it was a one-week experiment. Teeing off in the pro-am at the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods had a Mitsubishi Fubuki Tour shaft in his Nike VR driver.
Woods, who was one of the last to use a steel-shafted driver on tour, had played Mitsubishi's 83-gram Diamana White Board for several years. The Fubuki Tour, however, is 63 grams. The move to less weight should result in a modest increase in swing speed for Woods, while the shaft is designed to maintain high launch with low spin--a desirable attribute for Woods, who traditionally launches the ball lower and with more spin off the tee than most tour pros.
-- E. Michael Johnson
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