This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
On July 17, 2020, Tiger Woods faced a daunting challenge at the PGA Memorial tournament in Dublin, Ohio. The reigning Masters champion struggled with back issues, which could potentially lead to his first-ever missed cut.
Woods, a 44-year-old superstar, has never missed the cut in 17 prior starts at Muirfield Village. However, his back problems began to affect his game, causing him to make five bogeys and a double bogey against three birdies in round two.
“Not very good,” Woods said. “I 3-putted two holes early. Whatever momentum I was going to create, I stifled that early and struggled the rest of the day.”
Woods' back issues started when he was warming up before the round, and he noted, “It’s going to happen more times than not these days.” His back, which has been surgically repaired multiple times, affected his swing, making it a “bit of a struggle.”
Woods had not played since February at Riviera and was preparing for the year's first major, the PGA Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco, which was scheduled for August 6-9.
With a total of 15 major wins, Woods stood on three-over par 147 after 36 holes, just on the projected cut line as the last players teed off in the round.
“I would like to have the opportunity to play tomorrow,” Woods said. “Hopefully the cut will fall one more and I’ll have the opportunity.”
