Tiger Woods says he fought hard to make the cut at Farmers Insurance Open
Saturday 27 January 2018 08:10, UK
Tiger Woods admitted he had been forced to fight hard as he just made the cut in the Farmers Insurance Open thanks to a birdie at his final hole in the second round.
The former world No 1 continued his return to action with a one-under-par 71 on the North Course at Torrey Pines to sneak inside the cut mark by one shot.
After a level-par 72 on the South Course in his first PGA Tour round since this tournament last year, Woods kicked off his second round with a wayward drive to the left on the 10th hole on the North Course.
He managed to salvage par after being given a free drop due to his line of sight being blocked by the media centre, and followed that up with two straight pars.
Another hooked drive on the 13th found an unplayable lie which forced him to take a drop that proved costly this time as he racked up a double bogey to slip back to two over.
Five successive pars left the 42-year-old requiring some fireworks on the front nine in order to make the weekend and he started out in good style by holing a 30-foot putt for his first birdie of the day at the first.
He was not far away from an eagle as he birdied the par-five fifth and, after saving par with a superb flop shot at the sixth, another birdie at the driveable par-four seventh, following a delicate chip, put him inside the cut mark.
There was still to be some late drama, though, as Woods slipped back to level par by bogeying the par-three eighth after a clumsy second shot.
His drive on the par-five ninth scattered the crowd down the right, but he found the green with his second shot and a lengthy eagle putt came up just short, leaving him to tap in for a birdie which brought loud cheers from the crowd.
"I just fought hard. That's something I've done my entire career and this is no different," said Woods, who is 10 shots behind halfway leader Ryan Palmer.
"It was tough out there and the greens were firm. Some of these pin locations were a little tough to get at. We found it hard to put some numbers up there.
"Some of the guys are going low out there. I saw Jason (Day) ahead of us. He was taking it pretty deep out there. It can be had, but boy you have got to hit some really good shots."
Woods was once again followed by large galleries and he paid tribute to the crowd.
"The fans have been absolutely incredible," he said. "They were loud and supportive and also very respectful. Not only to myself, but to my playing partners as well. It was a great atmosphere to play in today."
The final two rounds will be played on the South Course and Woods, who has won eight times at the venue, is looking forward to experiencing some more competitive action.
"It's been a long 12 months," he added. "I've been away from it for a very long time so it's nice to get out there and compete and play.
"I'm still getting used to my feels - that just takes more time under the fire. I still need more rounds under my belt.
"How far certain shots are going, what my swing-feels are going to be for certain shots, certain trajectories - those are all things these guys already have built in. They've been playing and I'm kind of just starting out.
"But it's been fun to play and compete again and I felt like I fought hard and was able to post a score."
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