August 27 — On a day when Tiger Woods could have taken control of The Barclays golf leaderboard, a missed 20-inch par putt on the 15th hole pretty much summed up the world’s No. 1 golfer’s second round at Ridgewood Country Club.
Woods, who limped in with a 2-over 73 to go with his opening-round 65, was on target from tee to green, hitting all but one fairway and 28 of 36 greens. His problems occurred on the putting surfaces.
Putt for dough. “I hit the ball just as good today as I did yesterday,” Woods told reporters after his Friday round. “But I didn’t putt well at all. I didn’t have the speed at all on the greens. I was leaving it way short or blowing it by the hole. And it caught up with me.”
It sure did. Woods followed Thursday’s 27-putt performance with 33 putts Friday, including the come-backer on 15 for one of four bogeys on his closing eight holes.
Sighs of relief. Despite his fall from the top of the leaderboard to four off Jason Day’s 8-under lead, the organizers of next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship must be heaving huge sighs of relief. With doubts about the future of the tourney, the second of four FedEx Cup events, Deutsche Bank organizers would certainly like to have Woods in the mix for this year’s event.
Unless Woods falls apart completely (as he did at the recent Bridgestone Invitational when he finished second from the bottom), Boston golfers may look forward to cheering or jeering the still top-ranked golfer at TPC Boston.
Woods must finish no worse than 57th at The Barclays to punch his ticket for Boston as one of the top 100 to play in the second round of the PGA Tour playoffs. If the tourney ended Friday, Woods, currently in a tie for 14th, would have been 72nd in FedEx Cup points and headed for Boston.
Mickelson bows out. The world’s No. 2 golfer, who seems destined never to attain the top spot, missed the cut and evacuated the premises without talking with the media.
Going low. Kevin Streelman took advantage of a second day of perfect scoring conditions by firing an 8-under 63 to move into a share of second place, one behind Day. With his parents living nearby and his grandparents buried in a cemetery near the seventh hole, Ridgewood feels like home, Streelman said.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out at the Boston Golf Examiner and National Golf Examiner websites.)
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