For the second straight year, world No1 Tiger Woods made a horror start to his season when he slumped to a 79 – his worst round ever at Torrey Pines – and could not advance to the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
And for the third consecutive day on Saturday, Woods could not birdie any of the par-5 holes on the golf course, made back-to-back double bogeys, and then followed it up with five bogeys to be nine-over par from the 18th hole onwards, having started his round from the 10th tee.
Woods was saved further embarrassment when he chunked his chip from the edge of the green on the par-5 18th, but he holed the 10-footer for par. That putt helped him avoid his first score of 80 or worse in the United States as a professional. His worst career round is an 81, which came in atrocious weather conditions at the 2002 Open Championship in Muirfield.
Woods did make the cut in Torrey Pines with rounds of 72 and 71, but the PGA Tour has system of employing a secondary cut (MDF – Made cut but did not finish) after the third round when more than 78 players make the 36-hole cut. Only the top-70 and ties make it to the final round.
While Woods refused to speak to the media after the round, his playing partner, Jhonattan Vegas, said: “It was definitely different seeing him making so many bogeys. You don’t expect to see that out of him. He kept making mistakes.”
TV analysts were quick to pounce on his performance, with Nick Faldo saying Woods looked “very rusty” and Brandel Chamblee calling his swing as resembling that “of a 55-year-old”. A
nd as he makes the long journey from California to Dubai, where he is playing in this week’s 25th anniversary of Dubai Desert Classic, one man has backed him to come good soon.
Sean Foley, Woods’ coach, said on Fox Sports: “It’s just three days in a long year. I like what I’m seeing in practice, so we’ll just continue working and see where it takes us.”
For Woods’ fans in Dubai, the 79 should not set off alarms, because last year, after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship – albeit in controversial circumstances – he flew back straight to Torrey Pines and won the Farmers Insurance Open.
It also means he will be able to arrive a bit earlier (this afternoon), get over the jet lag and put in some good work on the range.
