Tiger Woods Misses Cut at PGA Championship, Eyes U.S. Open Comeback

Tiger Woods is among those who missed the cut at the PGA Championship, unable to capitalize on the soft conditions at Valhalla.

Woods’ hopes for the weekend ended almost immediately after his second round began. The 15-time major winner made a triple-bogey on the second hole, followed by another on the fourth hole. Standing on the fifth tee, Woods was already 8-over for the tournament.

Wyndham Clark, the fourth-ranked player in the world, also missed the cut, as did Ludvig Åberg, the runner-up in last month’s Masters. Clark, who shot 71-75, has now missed the cut in 2024’s first two majors after winning last year’s U.S. Open. Åberg shot 72-70 after withdrawing from last week’s Wells Fargo Championship because of knee pain. In less than a year as a pro, he has already climbed to sixth in the world rankings. Other big names to miss the cut include Matt Fitzpatrick (69-73), Jon Rahm (70-72), Akshay Bhatia (73-70), Nick Taylor (72-71), Sepp Straka (71-73), Sam Burns (72-73), Adam Scott (72-73), Nick Dunlap (74-73), and two-time PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson (74-72). Rahm’s missed cut snaps a streak of 18 consecutive cuts made in majors.

The cut was made Saturday morning after the second round was delayed 80 minutes by a fatal accident on Friday morning. Saturday’s resumption was further delayed more than two hours due to fog. Seventy-eight players made the cut at 1-under. 

Woods’ short game, usually his saving grace in recent majors, faltered on Friday. On the second hole, some 30 yards from the pin, Woods flubbed his pitch into a bunker, then bladed his next shot into another bunker on the opposite side of the green. A similar scenario played out on the fourth hole. Short of the green in two, Woods chunked his pitch into a bunker and then repeated the error, failing to escape. By the time he hit the green and two-putted, another 7 was on his card. This was the first round of Woods’ PGA TOUR career in which he made multiple triple-bogeys. He played his final 14 holes in even-par.

Woods has struggled to endure the demands of a professional golf tournament since severely injuring his right leg in a single-car crash in February 2021. Woods has competed in eight events since, missing the cut three times and withdrawing three times. When he has made the cut, he has struggled to maintain his early-week performance through the weekend. Woods made the cut at The Masters in April, then shot 82-77 to finish last among those who completed 72 holes.

Woods will now turn his focus to next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort, adding, “Hopefully everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst. I need to clean up my rounds. But also – physically, yes, I am better than I was a month ago. I still have more ways to go, lots of improvement to go physically, and hopefully my team and I can get that done pre-Pinehurst and going into it."

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