Tiger Woods missed the cut at the 2024 PGA Championship.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Friday night Tiger Woods leads the way in the 2024 PGA Championship. And for the first time in a long time, the golf world's reaction to his round felt like it was in agreement.
For years now (decades, really) we've been hanging on Woods' every shot in this inaugural major tournament. We learned about his departure. His speed of the ball. His putting stroke. In his latest comeback we took a moment (a long flagged bell, say) and wondered if they could turn to the big moments. If only he could get it together…can he win again?
But this week was different.
There were other factors involved, of course. Scottie Scheffler's arrest resulted from the proceedings of the day, for one thing. And the time of the second round was delayed until the middle of the day; when Woods spoke to an empty press room, eight shots from the cut line, it was nearly 8 p.m. Asked to describe his week, he sighed and smiled.
“A week? “It was a good week here, I'm here in Valhalla, and unfortunately my scores didn't reflect how people treated me and how good a week I had,” he said. “Unfortunately, I hit too many shots.”
There was no denying that part. Woods had just birdied the 18th hole to close with a second round of six over 77; he was paired with his first round 72 which left him 7 over for the tournament, the same score as the club's esteemed Michael Block.
Still, Woods showed enough form for hopefuls to find bright spots. Through 16 holes on Thursday he was hardly under par. He was walking well, too. I'm not saying he looked like a future big winner. But a big top-20er? You can talk to yourself about that.
But Woods showed enough weakness to prey on pessimists, too. First he failed to finish his opening round, three-putting his last two holes on the green. He then had a rough start to his second round, par-triple-bogey-triple out of the gate. He played six of those nine holes over par. Another 30? A decent 2 under.
In other words, there are no hot takes or strong finishes associated with Woods' week. It is definitely not done. He definitely hasn't returned. This didn't feel like a new beginning but it didn't feel like the beginning of the end, either. He can go well. His swing looks good. But he looked at the edges, too. He played a lot of golf that disappointed fans and would like to see him better. On Friday night, he made it clear that he expected better, too.
“I kept making mistakes again [doing] things you can't do, not only in tournaments but also in majors especially. And I kept doing them.” He seemed to like the idea.
He could also find bright spots. “Physically, yes, I'm better than last month,” he said, referring to his cut at the Masters. And he added that he still hopes that his game will improve with time. But in that sense – in time – Woods suddenly looked sad. Time is always the enemy.
“I need to play more,” he said. “Unfortunately I haven't played many tournaments – and there aren't many tournaments in my schedule. Hopefully everything will come together somehow in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst.”
That's Woods' current dilemma. Its hard truth. His body wouldn't allow him to play more than a few tournaments a year. But he requirements many tournament representatives to play well in that tournament are starting. If the only thing he has to do is the only thing he can't do, then that's a problem with no easy answer.
It's a tall order given his hand-picked schedule of tough, highly competitive events on the Tour. For three and a half years, every tournament played by Tiger Woods was either a major championship or a home event. As the game became more difficult it continued to add difficulty.
It is easy to imagine another future. Can John Deere start doing wonders for him? A minor where he doesn't play host? Where could he go on Tuesday and see how he felt in a low pressure environment? Woods fans still remember when he took that approach at the 2018 Valspar Championship – with great success. But 2018 was a long time ago, and it's moving forward every day. This is a different Woods with a different body.
It's worth noting that Woods has added another job to his plate, too. He joined the PGA Tour's Policy Board and now serves on the board of its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises. Partnership is no small commitment.
“All three are important in their own different ways,” said Friday. “For me, playing for pride and what I can do out here, but also outside the golf course, the impact and work I have as a player manager and as a player representative and what I can do outside the golf course to help this. visit.”
The players' managers emphasized that they are able to balance the game with efforts off the field. But Woods also admitted it was difficult.
“We don't sleep much,” she said. “There are a lot of late nights and late-night Zoom calls, all night, and a lot of emails to read.”
This is Tiger Woods' reality now. Lots of emails. Few competitions. A non-cooperative body. The belief that things can still improve. And the constant pursuit of the best.
“Keep fighting,” he said, asking what he found in his final 14 holes, when his uncut finish was sealed. “Keep the pin down, keep fighting, keep grinding, keep working hard to post the best score I can post today. That's all I can do. It will be a lot but I will fight until the end.”
We won't see Woods again until the US Open, golf's unforgiving test. Here's hoping you encourage us when we do. I hope it all comes together somehowto borrow his words.
“All” includes more than it used to.
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