The Live Report: Quail Hollow Championship, Round 2
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
EARLY APPEARANCE BY TIGER? (7:20 p.m.): TIger Woods typically arrives at a PGA TOUR stop on Tuesday evening, but he hinted on Friday that he would head to TPC Sawgrass ahead of his normal schedule.
TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course opens for practice rounds on Sunday, and its possible Woods will be around the early part of next week after heading home to Orlando for the weekend.
"It'll be interesting because I'll probably get home and hit balls on the range and I'm going to have to get up there to Ponte Vedra a little early to putt because Isleworth is all torn up," Woods said.
QUOTES FROM TIGER (6:50 p.m.): Here are a few observations from Tiger Woods' post-round news conference following his 7-over 79 on Friday that led to the sixth missed cut of his pro career:
Q: Just one of those really tough days out there, wasn't it?
TIGER WOODS: "Yeah, I didn't play well, and more importantly my short game wasn't very good. I chipped poorly, putted poorly, but for the most part I didn't really hit the ball that poorly until the end when it was already pretty much out of reach."
Q. Does it feel like you're that far off?
TIGER WOODS: "No, it didn't, but my short game was terrible. I three-putted there twice back-to-back, and you can't do that. I didn't get up-and-down at 6 and chipped the ball off the green at 7. Those shots, you're just throwing away shots when you do stuff like that."
Q. How much does missing the cut bother you?
TIGER WOODS: "It does bother me, no doubt. But at least I get the weekend to watch and see how it's done, how real players play golf, and hopefully I can piece it together for next week and be ready to go."
WOODS DONE (5:41 p.m.): As Tiger Woods made his way to the 18th tee, he half-heartedly slapped hands with a few fans offering support. Then he hit another indifferent drive, slightly groaning afterward, telling the ball to get down. It didn't, sailing into the right rough.
By the time Woods finished the round, it was his worst score in the U.S. as a professional, a 79. The homeward 43 also tied his worst nine-hole score, and the missed cut was just his sixth as a pro. -- Brian Wacker
DUBIOUS DISTINCTION (5:28 p.m.) Tiger Woods parred the 17th hole, two-putting from 18 feet, but just hit his drive on No. 18 into the right rough. That means he's only his six fairways in the first two rounds -- which is one less than his previous worst performance.
LONG FACE (5:21 p.m.) There's a long backup at the par-3 17th, which is probably the last thing Tiger Woods wants go deal with right now. It's as dejected as Woods as ever looked and it's understandable, especially considering he's 17 shots behind playing partner Angel Cabrera. -- Brian Wacker
BLEEDING STOPPED (5:10 p.m.): Tiger Woods ended his double-bogey streak at two with a two-putt par at the 16th hole. It wasn't easy, either. His approach landed 37 feet away and Woods had to make a 3-footer for save par.
WOODS HEADED TOWARD MISSED CUT (4:43 p.m.): Tiger Woods' scorecard on the back nine right now: bogey-bogey-bogey-par-double-double. That adds up to 7 over and what will be a missed cut for Woods.
Woods' worst career score as a professional, by the way, is an 81, shot in the third round of the 2002 British Open at Muirfield. But that's when the rain was blowing sideways. Right now, if he pars in, he'll shoot 79. -- Brian Wacker
WOODS WOES CONTINUE (4:24 p.m.): Whatever shred of hope there was for Tiger Woods to make the cut here at Quail Hollow were just washed away on the 14th hole. Woods missed the green to the right, then hit his pitch in the water, running the shot well past the flag, down the hill and into the drink.
It was the type shot you'd hit on the weekend with your buddies and one Woods may have never hit before. Woods is now 5 over on the back and for the day. In case you're wondering, his worst nine-hole score is a 43. Two more bogeys, and he'll match that. -- Brian Wacker
TIGER AND HIS MISSED CUTS (4:10 p.m.): UnlessTiger Woods can find a cure for his swing problems quickly, it's going to be a short week here in Charlotte, where Woods is likely going to miss the cut.
Woods has only missed five cuts in 240 starts as a professional. His last one, as mentioned earlier, was at the 2009 British Open in July. Before that, it was the 2006 U.S. Open. Woods' last missed cut in a non-major was the 2005 Children's Miracle Network Classic at Walt Disney World.
As a professional, Woods has never missed a cut in the first four months of the season (January, February, March or April). The earliest he has missed a cut in a season was at the 2005 HP Byron Nelson Championship (May 13, 2005). Of Woods' five missed cuts as a professional, only two have been in majors. Woods' five career missed cuts have come in Texas, New York, Florida, Scotland and Canada. -- Brian Wacker
CABRERA CLOSING STRONG (4 p.m.): Angel Cabrera doesn't seem to be getting dragged down by Tiger Woods, who is in his group and struggling. The Argentinian has three birdies and an eagle over his last six holes and is now tied for the lead at 7 under.
Cabrera started slow and has been hitting it pretty much all over the place much of the last day-plus, but his ball-striking has been much better than his driving with Cabrera hitting 10 of his 12 greens in regulation. -- Brian Wacker
EVEN STEVEN (3:45 p.m.): Camilo Villegas had a relatively uneventful round of even par on Friday but still managed to maintain his position among the leaders.
The three-time PGA TOUR champ actually hit two more greens than he did in the first round. His putter, though, wasn't as cooperative as he used 33 putts compared with 28 on Thursday.
"A couple bogeys, a couple birdies. I hung in there," said Villegas, who picked up his third PGA TOUR victory earlier this year at The Honda Classic. "I was pretty patient, felt like I was playing pretty good for two thirds of the round and just didn't get anything going. I made birdie on 7 and 8, and unfortunately I made bogey on 9, just a bad drive.
"But overall it's not an easy golf course. The wind started blowing for about the last nine holes, and it'll be interesting to see what happens in the afternoon." -- Helen Ross
TIGER DROPS ANOTHER (3:25 p.m.): Tiger Woods is now two shots off the cut line after a bogey on the par-5 10th. Woods made a mess of the hole, leaving his third shot out of the bunker short of the green, then failing to get up-and-down for par. -- Brian Wacker
TIGER MAKES THE TURN (3:05 p.m.): Tiger Woods has nine holes to make up at least one stroke to make the weekend here. He just made the turn in even par, making three bogeys and three birdies, the last of which came on the par-4 eighth.
Right now, there are 82 players at 1 over. Woods is currently 2 over. Though his round started off well, Woods has been wild most of the day. He continues to struggle with the driver, hitting just 29 percent of his fairways and 67.5 percent of his greens in regulation. He's also taken 15 putts.
The good news for Woods, though, is that there are two par-5s on the back nine here, so Woods should be able to make at least one birdie if not two. -- Brian Wacker
SICK NO MORE (2:52 p.m.): In case you were wondering, Phil Mickelson's illness that he was treated for earlier this week appeared to be food poisoning.
"I think it was a quick little deal, a 48-hour thing," Mickelson said after his 68 that leaves him near the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend. "I feel much better, and I even had a little protein this morning, so I should be okay."
Mickelson was better than okay Friday, though he made nothing but pars over his last 10 holes. Still, he was in good spirits. Asked if he ever got impatient with what many considered a slow start to the season, Mickelson said, "What do you mean? It just started three weeks ago." That one drew more than a few laughs. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON AFTER A MAJOR (2:40 p.m.): Phil Mickelson has won the week before a major and then gone on to win, but he's never won a major and then won in his next start. He's in position to change that, though, at 6 under for the week and now just one shot back of Bo Van Pelt, who is on the golf course.
Mickelson owns four top-10s here (2004-T5, 2005-T7, 2007-T3, 2009-T4), but has never won. Here's a look at how Mickelson has fared in his next start after winning a major championship. -- Brian Wacker
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VAN PELT STILL AHEAD (2:30 p.m.): At the other end of the leaderboard from Tiger Woods is Bo Van Pelt, who is one of four players to have shot the course record here (in 2006).
Van Pelt is 1 under through his first four holes with a birdie coming on No. 4. That has him at 8 under for the week and one clear of Billy Mayfair, who is 3 under through eight holes.
Two shots back are J.P. Hayes, Dustin Johnson, who shot a 65 in the second round, and Phil Mickelson, who went out and put up a 68 in the morning. -- Brian Wacker
WOODS IN DANGER (2:21 p.m.): After another bogey, this one on the par-3 sixth, where Tiger Woods missed the green left, leaving an awkward stance from which he could not get up-and-down from, the world's No. 1 player is in danger of missing the cut here at Quail Hollow.
Currently, the cut line is at 1 over and Woods is 3 over for the week with bogeys now on three of his last four holes. Only a birdie on the par-5 fifth saved it from being a disastrous stretch. Still, Woods is going to need to turn things around somewhere in the next 12 holes or else he'll be heading home for the weekend for the first time since last year's British Open and for only the sixth time in his professional career. The last non-major Woods missed the cut in was at the 2005 FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort. -- Brian Wacker
HAYES' TURNAROUND (2:11 p.m.): All of a sudden J.P. Hayes turned into Tom Watson, telling his caddie he was going to make a bunch of putts here in the second round -- and he did. Hayes took just 25 of them, using a long putter that he switched to earlier this year, and as a rsult tied the course record at Quail Hollow with a 64.
"I didn't play great. I kept it in play, I hit a lot of greens, which I told my caddie on the first hole, I said, just get me on the green today," said Hayes, who hit 15 greens in regulation. "Our goal was accomplished."
Asked if he thought there was maybe a litle karma working for calling a penalty on himself in the second stage of 2008 q-school, Hayes said if there was, he'd used it all up by now.
"Everything I've done this year has improved," Hayes said. "I'm hitting more greens A lot of fairways. Putting, you know, my putting stat from last year to this year, the last two or three years to this year, is the biggest standout among all the stats. So when I'm getting on the greens, I'm making the putts. I think it's just a whole package of betterness." -- Brian Wacker
CABRERA FRUSTRATED (1:54 p.m.) We just had our first club slam of the day with the Tiger Woods group, but it came from Angel Cabrera, who disgustedly slammed his wedge into his bag after hitting a chip shot well past the hole on No. 4. He made the putt, though, to save par to stay at 1 over. Woods, meanwhile, made bogey after missing a 5-footer. -- Brian Wacker
PERFECT SHOT (1:46 p.m.) It didn't take long for Tiger Woods to find his driver swing again -- he hit a perfect tee shot on No. 4 up the right side o the fairway. That's now two fairways for Woods, or already half as many as he hit all of Thursday. -- Brian Wacker
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GOOD WITH THE BAD (1:39 p.m.) The best shot Tiger Woods has hit all week might have been his approach on No. 3 just now. In the left rough, Woods hit a laser of a low hook that came around the trees on the dogleg hole and landed on the green about 27 feet away. He ran the putt a good 7 feet past, though and jabbed it coming back, making a bogey. -- Brian Wacker
SOLID START (1:22 p.m.) Two holes done, one birdie down for Tiger Woods, whose ball-striking looks much better than it has all week. He made just a par on the par-3 second, but his tee shot was to the middle-left portion of the green, where he slid the birdie attempt just by on the high side.
The very next hole, though, Woods pulled his tee shot to the left and into the treeline on the dogleg-left hole. He's been fighting the driver all week and if he starts missing to the right, too, it could be a long day again. -- Brian Wacker
AND HE'S OFF (1:06 p.m.) For the second straight day Tiger Woods began his round with a birdie, only this time it was on the par-4 first, where his approach landed 10 feet away before he made the putt.
The wind is the highest it's been all week so the the fact that Woods was able to hit the ball perfectly on the first hole could be a sign of things to come. It's going to need to be, anyway. -- Brian Wacker
HAYES MATCHES COURSE RECORD (12:15 p.m.): Call it karma if you want, but J.P. Hayes just shot the round of the week, tying the course record with an 8-under 64 that gets him within a shot of the lead.
Hayes, of course, might be best known for calling a penalty on himself that eliminated him from the second stage of q-school in 2008. Here he is now, though, just one back after a nine-birdie effort in which he missed just three greens and took only 25 putts. It's also just the third round in the 60s in this tournament (12 rounds), though he does have three top-10s this season. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Hayes' scorecard. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
MULROY ON MOVE (12:05 p.m.) This could be a day of firsts for Garth Mulroy at the Quail Hollow Championship.
The rookie from South Africa who is tied for the lead at 7 under through 11 holes has never made a cut in seven previous starts on the PGA TOUR but that seems certain to change on Friday. He also tied his career low of 69 on Thursday -- but that could fall today as he's currently 4 under with eight holes remaining.
And we won't even mention leading a PGA TOUR event for the first time.
Mulroy, who finished 14th on the Nationwide Tour money list last year to earn his TOUR card, played golf at N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C., which is about three hours away from Charlotte. He was a teammate of Carl Pettersson and Marc Turnesa and earned All-American honors in 2001. He received a sponsor's exemption to play at Quail Hollow. -- Helen Ross
ANOTHER EARLY EXIT (12:07 p.m.) Parker McLachlin has withdrawn due to a wrist injury. He joins Greg Kraft, who was hit by a bout with vertigo, as WDs this week. -- Helen Ross
SCORING SLOWDOWN (11:50 a.m.): Two players who got off to fast starts -- Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington -- have hit the birdie wall apparently. Mickelson has made seven straight pars and is stuck on 4 under. Harrington, meawnhile, turned in 33, but he's since made two bogeys and five pars. -- Brian Wacker
FURYK, HAYES ON FIRE (11:39 a.m.): The two best rounds going right now belong to J.P. Hayes and Jim Furyk, who are 7 and 6 under, resptively.
Hayes would have to birdie one of his last two holes, Nos. 8 or 9, to match the course record of 64, which has been shot three times (Kirk Triplett in 2004, Bo Van Pelt in 2006, Rory Sabbatini in 2007).
Furyk, meanwhile birdied six of eight holes at one point, including four in a row. He's putted much better here in the second round, taking 22 putts through 15 holes. Thursday, he averaged nearly two putts per green in regulation. -- Brian Wacker
FAXON HOLDING STEADY (11:25 a.m.): With age creeping in and splitting his time between the golf course and television booth, Brad Faxon hasn't exactly had a good year. He's made just two of 10 cuts and has doesn't have a finish in the top 50. That could change oddly enough this week with Faxon even on his round through 11 holes and in a tie for sixth.
How about this stat on Faxon: For the year, he's a combined 53 over. This week, on a course made for big hitters, he's 4 under for the week. -- Brian Wacker
PERRY TUMBLES DOWN THE LEADERBOARD (11:15 a.m.): Kenny Perry has a new driver -- the same one he won with twice last year after finding the TaylorMade head in a drawer last week -- and a new belly putter here at Quail Hollow. If both helped him shoot 66 Thursday, what has happened here in the second round? Perry is 5 over through 13 holes and has tumbled 30 spots down the leaderboard.
The culprits? His driver and putter. Perry has hit just two fairways so far and he's also taken 25 putts after taking just 24 putts the entire first round. -- Brian Wacker
TIME TAPS PHIL (11 a.m.): Phil Mickelson has made a quantum leap toward the top of the leaderboard with a back-nine 32 that moved him to 6 under and one stroke off Bo Van Pelt's overnight lead.
While he's out there playing, we thought you'd like to read this tribute to Mickelson from Jack Nicklaus in "THE 2010 TIME 100." In that special section, TIME selects the people who most shape our world as leaders, heroes, artists and thinkers.
"Now that I am five years removed from competitive golf, I, like many of you, have simply become a fan of the game. I have long enjoyed the engaging personality of Phil Mickelson, 39, and the smile that has endeared him to many fans. We have all celebrated Phil's victories and cried with him over the struggles faced by his wife Amy and his mother. Family has always been my priority, and their presence outside the ropes has underlined every win. After he won this year's Masters, I imagine that slipping into a third Green Jacket would not have meant nearly as much to Phil had he not first slipped into the embrace of his family. That's the way it should be. My wife Barbara and I are proud to call Amy and Phil friends." -- Helen Ross
Click here to read more.
HARRINGTON HOT (10:20 a.m.): The next hottest player on the leaderboard after Phil Mickelson at the moment? Padraig Harrington, who just made the turn in 33 with three birdies and an eagle -- his only hiccups were bogeys on Nos. 3 and 6 (click here to follow live with Shot Tracker). Harrington has yet to win this season, but he does have two top-10s, including a tie for third at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. -- Brian Wacker
YOU TWEET, WE ANSWER (10:15 a.m.): "Tiger is just plain swinging too fast, isn't he? He went from having a nice blues tempo to a speedy rockabilly pace!" -- @juniorspecial
More like inconsistently. When Woods has a two-way miss going, his tempo is completely out of whack. His ball-striking hasn't been very good, either, and as a result he shot his worst opening-round score in nearly three years. -- Brian Wacker
TIGER VS. PHIL (10:03 a.m.): Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are playing in the same tournament for just the second time this season and while Woods has historically owned the match-up, it's Mickelson who has been dominant lately (and he is again this week, at least so far).
Overall, Woods has won 53 times when playing in the same event as Mickelson, who has 14 wins in those events. But Mickelson has won the last three tournaments the two have played in (THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Masters).
With Mickelson having just made the turn in 32 and headed to the front nine at Quail Hollow, he may be about to add to that total. Mickelson has killed it on the front here (see chart) and already has the more difficult back nine out of the way. -- Brian Wacker
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TIGER'S STRUGGLES (9:48 a.m.): Tiger Woods won't tee off until this afternoon, but his opening 74 was his worst first-round score in nearly three years. It also marked just the third time he's posted an over-par score here at Quail Hollow in 17 total rounds.
Woods' worst standing after the opening round of a tournament that he went on to win? The 2009 Buick Open, where he was tied for 95th and the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, where he was tied for 83rd. He comes into today in a tie for 88th. Woods has now been ranked 60th or worse after any given round 49 times in his professional career. Here's a breakdown of those numbers:
• 60th or worse -- 49 times
• 70th or worse -- 32 times
• 80th or worse -- 19 times
• 90th or worse -- 13 times (best finish, win at the 2009 Buick Open after being ranked T95 after Round 1)
• 100th or worse -- nine times (best finish, runner-up at 2005 Western Open after being ranked T103 after Round 1) -- Brian Wacker
PHIL'S FAST START (9:30 a.m.): Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were like two ships passing in the night, or day actually, Thursday. As Woods was finishing off his abysmal 74, Mickelson was making his way to the first tee.
Though Mickelson finished bogey-bogey in the opening round, he didn't waste time making up for that Friday morning, making a birdie on No. 11 and an eagle on the par-15th, where he hit to inside 7 feet on his second shot from 219 yards. That has him at 3 under for the day and now just two shots off the lead (click here to follow him live with Shot Tracker).
"The last two times I've fainted and woken up in a pool of vomit, I've won," said Mickelson of his illness earlier this week. "Laying there on the floor wondering where I am, a good omen came over me."
If he wins again this week, it would be his first victory at Quail Hollow. -- Brian Wacker
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