Miscalculation brought Tiger Woods hype to a crashing halt - New York Post

Maybe Jack Nicklaus doesn’t have much to be worried about after all. Any notion of Tiger Woods matching Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships anytime soon hit a huge speed bump this week with his disappointing performance at the 101st PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.

Instead of battling to win his 16th major, the only real drama Woods provided in Friday’s second round was whether he would make the cut and play the weekend. He didn’t.

After turning back the clock and winning his fifth Masters and 15th major championship at Augusta National last month, Woods looked more like a 43-year-old golfer in need of more practice exiting the tournament after just 36 holes. His 3-over 73 on Friday left him 5-over for the tournament, missing the cut by one stroke.

His much-anticipated showdown with Brooks Koepka, the defending PGA champion, was no contest, with Koepka beating Woods by 17 strokes and leading the field by seven heading into Saturday’s third round. Hold all that talk of a new rivalry in golf.

“I just wasn’t moving the way I needed to,” Woods said after his round. “There’s going to be days and weeks where it’s not going to work and today was one of those days.”

All the hype surrounding Woods’ magical win at Augusta a month ago perhaps created unrealistic expectations of success at Bethpage Black, especially since Woods had not played a competitive round since the Masters when he shot 72 on Thursday. His game was clearly rusty. He couldn’t find the fairway off the tee and had no feel for the greens.

After hacking his way around Bethpage, Woods came to the 18th hole Friday needing a birdie just to make the cut and survive the weekend. When he landed his drive in the fairway of the 407-yard par-4, it was just the third fairway Woods had found the entire day.

More typical of Woods’ round was his second shot. From just 113 yards out, his ball landed well short of the pin and rolled back off the green onto the rough. It left him 41 feet from the hole. His long-shot chance for birdie never came close, racing 5 feet past the cup. Woods made par, but his six bogeys on the day — including three straight to start the back nine — overshadowed his three birdies, forcing an early exit from the venue where he won the 2002 U.S Open.

“I just didn’t quite have it,” Woods said. “It’s just the way it goes. I just don’t feel well and [was] just not able to do it. I thought resting would be better so I would have energy to play. Unfortunately, I just made too many mistakes and just didn’t do the little things I need to do. I had a couple of three-putts. I didn’t hit wedges close. I didn’t hit any fairways today. I did a lot of little things wrong.”

You can’t always be certain what’s going on with Woods when it comes to his health. He skipped a scheduled nine-hole practice round Wednesday because he “got a little bit sick.” That came after he didn’t play at Quail Hollow because he wasn’t ready for the “grind” of practicing. And though he said he was prepared for Bethpage Black, Woods was no match for the challenging layout. He found the fairway on just 13 of 28 drives and hit a modest 21 of 36 greens in regulation.

Now Woods must figure out how to get ready for the next major championship. The 2019 U.S. Open will be held at Pebble Beach in four weeks and Woods must decide if and when he’ll play competitive golf before then. The most likely chance of seeing Woods again will be at the Memorial Tournament hosted by Nicklaus beginning May 30.

“There’s no reason why I can’t get up to speed again and crank it back up,” Woods said. “I’ve got to start feeling a little bit better first before that happens. We’ll do that first and then start cranking it back-up again.”

After Bethpage Black, that seems easier said than done.

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