Tiger Woods battled back valiantly Friday afternoon at Southern Hills, successfully playing himself into the weekend at the 104th PGA Championship. After signing for a 4-over 74 in Round 1, he improved drastically in his second round, carding a 1-under 69. Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain that level of play, and his body would not allow him to play through all 72 holes.
Woods withdrew from the PGA Championship on Saturday night following completion of the third round. He shot a 9-over 79 -- his worst round ever at the PGA Championship and fifth-worst in his PGA Tour career -- and sat in a tie for last place in the clubhouse.
His inability to contend mixed with a leg injury that continues to wreak havoc with his body led Woods to his withdrawal decision. It marked the first time in his professional career he departed a major on his own terms; his only prior major withdrawal came at the 1995 U.S. Open as an amateur.
"You can't win the tournament if you miss the cut," said the 46-year-old on Friday. "I've won tournaments -- not major championships, but I've won tournaments on the cut number. There's a reason why you fight hard and you're able to give yourself a chance on the weekend. You just never know when you might get hot. As I said, I've won tournaments being on the cut number."
Tiger was 21 shots off the lead at the close of play Saturday, and his continued use of a club as a cane while walking the course made it clear he was still seriously hobbled.
"Well, I'm sore. I know that for a fact," Woods said Saturday when asked if he was healthy enough to complete the remaining 18 holes at the PGA Championship. "We'll do some work and see how it goes."
Keep on reading for stories about Woods' trek through the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Rick Gehman, Mark Immelman and Jonathan Coachman discuss Tiger Woods and his withdrawal from the 2022 PGA Championship. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Birdie time! Tiger connects from distance on No. 15 for his first birdie of the third round. With three holes left, he will need to play this remaining stretch in even par or better to break 80.
For the first time in his major championship career, Woods has carded five bogeys in a row. The worst round of his major career came in the third round of the 2002 Open Championship when he signed for an 81 in biblical conditions. He has his work cut out to do no worse than that as he is 10 over on the day.
Consecutive bogeys to start his back nine have dropped Woods down to 11 over for the week. The cold, wet conditions have done nothing to help the 46-year-old as seven holes remain in his third round.
A couple water balls, an embedded ball and missed birdie opportunities add up to a 6-over 41 on the front nine for Tiger. Getting major deja vu from the Masters right now. He now stands at 9 over for the championship. No bueno.
The 15-time major champion is now 5 over on the day and 8 over for the championship after a poor two-hole stretch. Wayward shots off the tee continue to be a thorn in Woods' side as he has now found the water twice.
A missed birdie putt on the fourth was followed up by a par on the par-5 fifth. Those are two holes players must take advantage of if they are to post a solid score today. Unfortunately, Tiger did not.
Tiger's tee shot on No. 2 led to a bogey and dropped him to 4 over for the tournament. He then made a routine par on the third and will have a few scoring opportunities coming up to get back the dropped shot.
He is 12 strokes out of the lead so major No. 16 will have to wait. I think a good goal for Tiger would be to get back to even par for the championship. He is at 3 over and a couple rounds in the 60s would be just as impressive as encouraging.
The chilly temperatures may have an effect on Woods' body, but he looks bundled up. Wearing three different layers at the moment, hopefully he can keep his body warm throughout the day in Tulsa.
Weather continues to be a major storyline as it has now delayed the beginning of the third round. Pushed back only 37 minutes, action should be getting underway at Southern Hills shortly. Tiger is off at 9:58 a.m E.T. alongside Shaun Norris.
Tiger Woods followed up his opening-round 74 on Thursday at the 2022 PGA Championship with a 1-under 69 in Round 2 on Friday, narrowly making it inside the 4-over cut line but keeping his chances to win at Southern Hills like he did in 2007 -- however unlikely -- still alive headed into the weekend. His 69 was tied for the 11th best round of the day.
Woods (+3 through 36 holes) seesawed his way through a muggy second round of play with another strong start much like the one he had Thursday. He birdied the fifth after throwing a dart to within feet on his approach, part of a 1-under start through seven. But he gave one back at eight before going out in even par.
The rollercoaster continued on the back with a birdie at 10 followed by a double at 11. But as he is won't to do, Tiger held tight, making birdie at the par-5 13th and sticking his approach within a few feet at 16 for another. An impressive up and down at 17 from just off the green all but officially punched his weekend ticket. He played the final seven holes at 2 under, and with the pressure of the cut looming, he was just good enough (by two strokes) to make the cut.
"I knew what the number was," said Woods on ESPN post-round. "Had to grind and go to work, I did, made it. Hopefully this weekend I can get a hot weekend with some tough conditions, and you never know."
A fast start and a slump to the finish was the theme of Woods' appearance at the Masters last month and again it was Thursday in Round 1. But despite a pronounced limp at the end of Thursday (and despite using a club as a cane throughout both days), Woods was not only good enough to withstand the tough conditions but appeared to improve as the round went on. Physically, though, that's clearly not the case.
"There's a lot of things [I can't do]," Tiger said laughing after being asked about his leg and physical limitations. "It's just the way it is. Luckily, over the course of my career I've used my hands quite well. I've relied on feel to hit shots. … I know it wasn't exactly the way I wanted it to be, it wasn't pretty … but I hope I can [play prettier] this weekend."
Of the 10 major championships held at Southern Hills, all 10 eventual champions have held the lead at the 36-hole mark — including Woods in 2007 — so his chances 12 strokes off the pace of the lead entering the weekend are admittedly slim. Nonetheless, making another major championship cut and getting a chance to compete at the top of the sport is itself a huge accomplishment regardless of how the next few days play out.
Big time. Woods makes birdie on the tough par-4 16th and has now moved himself to 3 over. With two holes left, barring some sort of disaster, the 15-time major champion will be around for the weekend.
A couple of huge par saves for Woods as he remains on the cut line. He played this upcoming stretch of golf in 2 over yesterday so he will have his work cut out for him. At 4 over, he is no wiggle room for a mistake.
Par-5 play has been crucial for Tiger today as he has now made birdie on both of them. Back to 4 over, Woods is on the projected cut line with five holes remaining.
That is not what the doctor ordered. After making birdie on the par-4 10th, Woods immediately gave it back on the following hole with a double bogey. Now outside the cut line at 5 over, he will have his work cut out for him to see the weekend. Luckily, it looks like the wind has subsided a bit and a few more pins are accessible.
That could be a big miss for Tiger as he slid a 10-foot birdie putt by the edge. With only nine holes left, he will attempt to play his final half at even par or better to make it into the weekend as he remains at 4 over.
It is playing as one of the more difficult holes on the course, but Woods has given his earlier birdie back with a bogey on the par-3 eighth. Back to 4 over, Woods is now on the projected cut line with a little more than half of his second round remaining. There are a few birdie opportunities still out there but every hole presents a possible bogey.
Much needed! Tiger finds a birdie on the par-5 fifth to get himself to 3 over for the championship. With the projected cut line hovering at 4 over, Woods now has a little wiggle room to work with.
Four pars in a row for Tiger to kick off his second round. Can imagine he would have liked to pick one up on the fourth, but he remains at 4 over for the championship. He will head to a par 5 now which he must take advantage of after not being able to yesterday.
Nice little bunker shot there for Tiger on the second hole. He'll tap in for par and remain at even par on the day and 4 over for the tournament. Hopefully he can skirt past No. 3 and then grab one or two strokes on the two following holes as they have been giving up a few birdies.
The big cat is on site and rocking an electric green polo. He will need to get things going with his iron play today as he only hit seven greens in regulation in the first round, the worst mark in his major championship career.
Tiger Woods set to tee off in one of the last groups in Round 2 with a 2:36 p.m. ET tee time with Jordan Spieth and leader Rory McIlroy. Woods opened his week with a 4 over 74, which right now is real close to the potential cut line. He needs a strong day -- likely under par -- to stay this weekend. Not a sure thing even for Woods, and after seeing him gimpy yesterday afternoon, it's hard to imagine he plays his way into contention here at Southern Hills.
Not exactly the start Tiger probably envisioned. He birdied 10 and 14 to open his round with a flurry but bogeyed five of the next eight. On the day he had eight bogeys, five of which came on the final nine (including at 8 and 9.) Short game -- especially his approach -- was just flat bad. Hit only 7 of 18 greens in regulation.
Not surprising Woods struggled given how rusty he is (and should be) -- this is just his second competitive action since a car crash more than a year ago that left him severely injured in the lower body -- but he may have some real pressure Friday. Not outside the realm of possibility that he misses the cut.
El Tigre has to be kicking himself as he went through both the par 5s without a birdie. 2 over with four holes remaining, he will look to grab one, maybe two, coming in to hopefully get himself back into this thing. He is currently eight strokes off McIlroy's lead.
Starting to look grim for Tiger Woods here in Round 1 after a strong start. He's bogeyed four of his last five holes and fallen to outside the top 40 on the leaderboard. Irons have thus far not been crisp at all, putter still not bailing him out, and for some reason he's ceding a potential length advantage by primarily playing irons off the tee. Not good.
It was a much needed birdie for Tiger who was reeling in the middle part of his round. Now at 1 over, Woods continues to fight a left miss with his irons as he laid up into the rough on the following hole.
After playing his first five holes at 2-under, Tiger Woods has bogeyed four of his last six to move to 2 over on the round and seven off the pace of leader Rory McIlroy. Looked crisp early, but his irons and approach shots haven't been nearly as reliable since the hot start and his putter isn't bailing him out of bad spots, either.
Steady opening nine for Tiger Woods to open his week here in Tulsa as he turns in a 35 on his first nine -- on the back nine holes. Woods birdied 10 and 14 but gave two back at 15 and 18. 18 is going to be the source of immense carnage this week, so no surprise there.
2 under through his initial five holes, Woods dropped a pair of shots including one on the difficult par-4 18th. Still, he remains where he started the day at even par. Something to keep an eye on is a long and left miss with the irons and wedges as I have counted four such approach shots thus far.
After two birdies to open his round through five holes, Tiger gives one back with a bogey at the par-4 15th. Like earlier in his round, he missed his approach -- but this time paid the price. His bunker shot missed for birdie and his par putt, well long, he left on the short side. So he'll head to 16 at 1 under.
