Golf-Woods reveals another unseen side (Reuters)
April 30, 2010
* Woods misses cut after second round 79
* Refuses to blame personal problems for failure (Updates with details, quotes)
By Julian Linden
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, April 30 (Reuters) – Anotherside of Tiger Woods was unveiled to the golfing world onFriday. And just like the last time, it was shocking to see.
The private life of the world’s richest sportsman hadalready been laid bare by the sordid revelations of hisextra-marital affairs. Now his golf game is facing examination.
It is too early to say what, if any, effect his personaltroubles will have on his game but Woods ensured thosequestions would be asked after a rare inept performance at theQuail Hollow championship on Friday.
Woods missed the cut for only the sixth time in hisprofessional career after rounds of 74 and 79. That aloneshould be no real cause for concern but it was the manner ofhis early exit that was most alarming.
By his own incredible standards, this was a train crash thegolfing world never expected to see. Woods looked like a manwith the weight of the world on his shoulders but insisted thedistractions in his private life were not to blame.
“Does it test you? Yes, of course it does,” he toldreporters.
“Is that any excuse? No, because I’m out there and I havethe same opportunity as everybody else here in this field toshoot a good number, and I didn’t do that.”
Golf is a game that revolves around numbers and Wood’snumbers were not impressive. At times, he looked like anyweekend hacker.
It was just the sixth time in 241 professional appearancesthat he missed the cut. His second round of 79 was the secondworst of his pro career, two behind the 81 he shot at the 2002British Open.
Woods took 43 shots to complete the back nine on Friday.This did match his worst-ever record. For the first time innearly three years he made double bogeys on successive holes.
“It does bother me, no doubt,” he said.
“But at least I get the weekend to watch and see how it’sdone, how real players play golf.”
Woods was appearing in only his second tournament sincecoming out of his self-imposed five-month exile. No-one reallyexpected him to start winning tournaments straight away, buteven less thought he would implode as he did on Friday afterfinishing fourth at the US Masters.
There were ominous signs after he shot 74 on the first dayand he struggled to get through his first nine holes on Fridaylevel with the card, spoiling three birdies with three bogeys.
What unfolded on the back nine was like watching a manbleed on the course. Woods bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 12thholes to suddenly drop back to five-over-par. He stopped therot with a par at the 13th before making a double-bogey at the14th when he pitched over the green and into the water.
Worse was to come at the next hole when he four-putted foranother double bogey. He closed with three pars to avoidshooting an embarrassing 80 but that failed to save him fromhaving to pack his bags and head back home.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Whatever it was, it wasn’tgood enough.”
(Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this storyemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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