TIGER WOODS’ LONG-AWAITED PGA Tour comeback came to an abrupt end at the Farmers Insurance Open as the former world number one tumbled out of the tournament after missing the cut.
Woods started the day at Torrey Pines Golf Course needing a low second round score to extend his participation into the weekend after a wayward four-over-par first round on Thursday.
But despite perfect conditions on the more forgiving North Course, Woods again struggled to generate any momentum, carding a level-par 72 which left him four-over after 36 holes.
At the other end of the leaderboard, England’s Justin Rose will take a one-shot lead into the weekend after a one-under-par 71 on the South Course, a day after his seven-under-par opening round.
The Olympic champion sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the last — his third of a round which included two bogeys — to move clear of the field at eight under.
With the cut coming at level par, Woods was left contemplating an early exit at his first full-field PGA Tour event since August 2015.
“It’s frustrating, not being able to have a chance to win the tournament,” Woods told reporters. “I didn’t make the cut.”
Woods — who now heads to the Gulf for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next week — took comfort from signs of improvement on Friday after his erratic opening round the previous day.
“Overall today was a lot better than yesterday. I hit it better, I putted well again,” Woods said.
“I hit a lot of beautiful putts that didn’t go in. But I hit it a lot better today which was nice,” Woods said, adding that he will only get sharper after playing more tournaments.
“Playing tournament golf is a bit different to playing with your buddies in a cart. I need to get more rounds under my belt and more playing time and that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
Woods was not the only high-profile casualty on Friday, with world number one Jason Day and world number three Dustin Johnson also missing the cut.
Rickie Fowler also missed out after finishing three over following a second round 75.
Shane Lowry was the only Irishman to play his way into the weekend’s field, surviving a horror triple-bogey on the fourth to salvage a one-over par 73 and get in on the cut mark at level par.
Seamus Power (+2) and Pádraig Harrington (+4) both missed the cut.
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