US PGA Championship: Tiger Woods makes the cut, shoots 69 on Friday

By Sports Desk May 20, 2022

Tiger Woods rebounded from a disappointing opening round at the US PGA Championship to post a 69 on Friday and make the cut, even if he admitted "it wasn't pretty".

Woods was even par through the front-nine on his second trip around the course, and birdied the 10th to move to one under, but a double-bogey on 11 after a run-in with a bunker threatened to end his week early.

The double moved him to five over for the tournament, with the cut-line at four over, meaning he needed to go under-par over the last seven holes.

He did just that, birdieing the par-five 13th hole to move onto the cut line, and converting another birdie on 16 to give himself some breathing room. His late run included six consecutive one-putt finishes leading up to the 18th.

Speaking to ESPN while still dripping with sweat, Woods said he embraced the grind down the stretch, and had some optimism for the weekend.

"I knew what the [cut-line] number was – I just needed to go out and do it," he said.

"I started off the back-nine exactly how I wanted to – made birdie at 10 – and then I almost whip-hooked it there on 11 and made double, and next thing you know I'm outside of the cut-line.

"I had to grind and go to work, and I did, and made it. Hopefully this weekend I can get a hot weekend with some tough conditions, and you never know."

When asked about the ways he is limited by his injuries, Woods did not shy away from it, but said his mission is still to win.

"There's a lot of things – but it's just the way it is," he said.

"Over the course of my career I've used my hands quite well, and relied on feel and hitting shots. When you're out there it's just about hitting the ball the right number and getting it done.

"There's a mission – the mission is to go ahead and win this thing somehow. I know sometimes it doesn't exactly feel well, but that's just what it is. That's life, that's sports. 

"We push it, and sometimes it breaks, but that's okay. You get back out there, and that's why I've got great PT staff.

"I'm really good at breaking things, and they're really good at fixing things, so it's a great relationship

"It wasn't exactly the way I wanted it to be – it wasn't pretty. It wasn't what Bubba [Watson] is doing out there right now [tying Woods' course-record of 63]. But hopefully I can do that this weekend."

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