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Tiger Woods Friday live blog: Woods overcomes mid-round hiccup to make the cut at Torrey Pines
Stan Badz
Following a "not-so-bad" 70 on Torrey Pines' South Course to begin his PGA Tour season, Tiger Woods will take on the easier North Course in Friday's second round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods will be trying to catch playing partners Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau, who each opened with 69, in addition to a bunch of other big names like Jon Rahm, who shot a Thursday 62 on the North. Woods, Schauffele and Finau will begin their second rounds there at 12:30 ET, but before that happens, get caught up with our recap of Woods' first round. And once Tiger tees off, keep it right here for shot-by-shot updates, highlights and news from his day. (All times ET)
7:10 Woods will indeed have a weekend tee time, but he's got a lot of work to do if he's going to get into contention. Justin Rose fired a 66 on the South Course and leads at 15 under. He's three shots clear of Hideki Matsuyama, five shots in front of a three-way tie for third, and 11 shots in front of Tiger, who sits in a tie for 48th at four under. Here's the full report from our man on the ground at Torrey Pines, John Strege. Woods will tee off Torrey Pines' South Course with Scott Stallings and Mackenzie Hughes at 11:10 ET (8:10 local time) on Saturday.
5:30 "Tee to green, I was pretty good," Woods told Golf Channel after. "I just couldn't get a putt to fall. Lot of lipouts today and a round that could have easily been five, six under par just didn't materialize." Woods' stats (7 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens, and 29 putts) were nearly identical to Thursday. At the time of him signing his scorecard, he's T-45 at four under, with the cut line looking like it will still fall at three under.
5:25 With Woods' round wrapped up, here's a look at the current leader board. World No. 1 Justin Rose leads by one at 13 under over Hideki Matsuyama and Billy Horschel. Jon Rahm and Joel Dahmen are both at 10 under. For full scores, click here.
5:19 Not the finish Woods was looking for as he fails to birdie the par-5 ninth. That's a second consecutive 70, only this one won't feel as good considering it came on a North Curse that's playing about two shots easier than the South Course. Nevertheless, Woods will make it to the weekend in pretty similar fashion to last year when he made the cut on the number then fired rounds of 70 and 72 to finish T-23.
5:01 Woods hits a nice tee shot on the par-3 eighth, his penultimate hole of the day, but misses from 15 feet. Still two under for the round. Still four under for the week. Still one shot within the cut line at the moment. Par 5 finish upcoming will give Woods a great chance to not only make the weekend, but build a little momentum going into it.
4:49 Another hole, another disappointing par for Woods. This time, Woods' drive bounces through the green on the short par 4 and into a back bunker. From there he blasted a shot to about 10 feet and then grazed the edge with his birdie attempt. And Tiger can't get too comfortable. The cut line just moved from two under to three under, placing him just inside with two holes to play.
4:33 More waiting on water coolers for Woods on the short par-4 seventh. Good thing Torrey Pines has plenty of water coolers to sit on! This is turning into a bit of a slog.
4:24 Tiger nearly chips in for a second time in three holes, but settles for par and remains at four under. After his approach shot on the par-4 sixth caught a false front and funneled off the green, Woods thought he jarred another, but his golf ball rattled off the flagstick (Maybe these things aren't such great backstops after all) and stayed out. He's got a short par 4, a par 3, and a par 5 left as tries to stay inside the cut line, which is currently two under.
4:13 Tiger's momentum is slowed just a bit with a disappointing par on No. 5. Woods was in great shape after a booming drive, but his approach went long and after a tricky pitch to about 15 feet, he lipped out his birdie attempt. That's his third lipout of the day as he remains at two under on his round, four under overall.
4:04 After a backup on the tee at the par-5 fifth, Woods finds the fairway with his tee shot, but airmails the green with his second. He'll need to get up and down from the rough to keep this birdie train rolling. On the positive side, he's got plenty of green to work with.
3:45 IN YOUR LIFE! OK, it wasn't quite that dramatic, but Tiger chipped in for another birdie on the par-4 fourth to get back to four under.
That's back-to-back birdies since Chris Powers, known around our office as "The Ultimate Mush," handed over the keys to this blog to me. So don't worry, people. I'm bring better vibes as we steer Woods toward the finish.
3:35 A quick leader board update. Jon Rahm has fallen out of first, but he's been replaced by another top-ranked golfer. In fact, the top-ranked golfer in the world, Justin Rose. Here's how things stand at the moment:
And Rory McIlroy (-7) and Adam Scott (-6) are lurking. Not a bad board for a Friday afternoon.
3:30: We've got a little life, folks! Woods hits a solid 5-wood to the front of the green on the uphill, 238-yard, par-3 3rd (I thought the North Course was supposed to be "easy"?) and drains his birdie putt from about 20 feet.
That's his first birdie on the day on a non-par 5 and it moves him back to three under. Woods has six holes remaining, including two par 5s.
3:18: Woods' birdie effort never moves. Another par. He's running out of holes and can't afford any more mistakes.
3:10: Tiger stripes a six iron onto the dance floor at No. 2. He'll have less than 15 feet for birdie. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy just got to seven under. Quite a leader board on a Friday. If only Tiger could get in the mix ...
3:05: Much better drive for Woods at No. 2, splitting the fairway. Right now the projected cut is at two under, so Tiger is hovering right on the line.
3:01: Tiger recovered nicely, putting his approach right in front of the green and two-putting for par.
2:52: Here's a look at his lie at the 18th:
It just got worse, as Woods blasted one miles to the left off the tee at the first hole on the North. Wheels coming off.
2:50: Double bogey for a front-nine 36. What a dagger. Went from playing his way into contention to now worrying about the cut line.
2:44: Tiger got the worst break imaginable as his ball was literally buried in the sand.
He chopped one out about three yards, and that was an incredible result. Tiger quickly hit his fourth and it rolled 10 feet past the hole. He has work to do now just to save bogey. What a rough way to follow up a bird.
2:42: Good lord did Tiger just hit a bad shot. Almost a snap hook into the left bunker. Going to be a tough up and down for par. One step forward, two steps back was the theme yesterday. We'll see if he can avoid dropping a shot here.
2:35: Recoil city at the 18th for Tiger as he pipes a drive down the right side of the fairway. Feeling it.
2:31: Bang. Nice right to left roll from Tiger for birdie to get to four under. He's owned the par 5s over these first 26 holes, making birdie at every single one. If he can start making a few on the par 4s and continue to avoid bogeys, we're going to be in for a fun weekend at Torrey.
2:24: Solid strike from Woods on his third to about seven feet. Needs this one to drop.
2:23: Tiger was in some THICK rough and he hacked one out back into the fairway. Man, it's going to hurt if he can't salvage a birdie here. He'll have a short approach in on his third, and really needs to put it close. Meanwhile, all the action is coming from the group ahead, as Adam Scott eagles the 17th to get to five under, and Rory McIlroy makes birdie to get to six under. Rickie Fowler also made birdie, his fourth of the day, putting him at three under for the week. Tiger/Xander/Finau are searching for some similar juice.
2:17: Woods pumps one into the gallery at the 17th. Not ideal, to say the least.
2:11: Woods keeps the pin on the downhill double breaker, and just rolls it past. Another boring par. Key opportunity coming up at the short par-5 17th.
2:08: Awkward looking, abbreviated follow through for Tiger on his approach shot. The PGA Tour live commentators said he may have possibly been in a divot. Tough break on another great drive. Woods found the green but got no spin, and now he'll have another long, fast look at birdie.
2:02: Another buttery drive for Woods at 16. Up ahead, Rory McIlroy just dunked one from the fairway for eagle. Tough act to follow for Tiger, Finau and Xander. Rory is now five under for the week. Making moves.
1:58: Tiger's birdie putt was lightning quick, and other than hitting the hole, he couldn't do much to stop it. After it rolled about six or seven feet past, Woods strokes his par putt in. Really nice save.
1:50: Safe shot to the fat part of the green at the majestic, downhill par-3 15th for Tiger. Two putts will do from there.
1:44: Heck of an effort from Woods from just off the green. His birdie try just rolls past the right edge of the hole, and he taps in another par. No bogeys so far, but he's going to have to kick it into another gear soon if he wants to be in the mix on the weekend.
1:39: Woods overcooks his approach shot, missing the green left for the first time all day. Kind of a strange miss there, and a painful one after hitting such a great drive. Luckily, it stayed out of the rough, and he'll still have a decent look at birdie with a wedge or the putter.
1:32: Quick club twirl and tee grab from Tiger at the 14th as his drive literally splits the fairway, coming to rest right next to the stripe in the middle.
1:29: Another very aggressive putt from Tiger, perhaps too aggressive. Once again it rolls a foot or so past and he's able to clean up his par. At least he's giving them a chance.
1:24: Tiger pures one on to the front of the green and gets a nice big hop towards the hole. Should have inside 15 feet left for his birdie.
1:17: Not the best drive from Tiger at the 14th as it leaks a little right, but it stays short of the fairway bunker and it looks like he'll have a favorable lie for his second.
1:14: Aggressive effort from Tiger from 30-plus feet that nearly caught the right edge and rolled about four feet past. He makes the comebacker for par to stay at three under.
1:07: Woods' tee shot at No. 12 hung up in the air a bit, and he asked for it to " [expletive] GO." We'll let you guess what he said. It listened, just catching the front of the green and taking a hard kick left off the slope. Not a close birdie putt by any means, but makable, which is a small victory considering he thought he was going to come up well short.
1:01: Tiger's putt never broke. That hurts. Two-putt par as he heads to the par-3 12th.
12:57: Tiger throws a dart into the 11th green. Big opportunity to open with back-to-back birdies here.
12:50: Tiger safely plays an iron into the fairway at the short par-4 11th. Should have a good angle into the green and a chance to put one close.
12:46: Solid two-putt birdie for Tiger. Can't complain about an opening birdie. He moves to three under for the week.
12:39: From an awkward angle, Woods hits a laser long iron that chases to the back of the green. It's about as good as he could do from that position and he'll face a 30-foot eagle putt on his first hole.
12:35: And they're off! All three players in Tiger's group miss the fairway on the par-5 10th, but Woods is in the best shape in the first cut of rough on the left side. Up ahead, Rory McIlroy makes eagle, so again, today is a day to get after it.
12:20: Ten minutes until tee time, and scoring conditions look as perfect as they were on Thursday. I'm predicting a 67 from Tiger, but more importantly, check out our collection of predictions for his 2019 season from a wide array of golf personalities. Oh, and if you're looking to take a trip down memory lane, here are 33 things you don't remember from Tiger's 2008 U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines. Enjoy.
12:10: We're about 20 minutes away from Tiger making his way to 10th tee at the North Course. To help the time pass, here's the second installment of GOLFTV's new video series with Tiger, featuring caddie Joe LaCava:
On Thursday, the first installment included them talking about their friendship and Tiger practicing putting with the pin in, which he did on a couple long putts in the first round. These two are great on camera together, so let's hope the videos of them keep coming.