The Masters 2018: Tiger Woods highlights from Round 2

Here are the Round 2 highlights from Tiger Woods at the 2018 edition of The Masters.

After shooting a 1-over-par 73 in the first round of the 2018 Masters on Thursday, seven shots behind leader Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods found himself in a little better position after Spieth gave a couple of shots back to Augusta National early in his round.

Once again playing alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Marc Leishman, who was at the top of the leaderboard for a while before Patrick Reed went nuts, Tiger was just five shots out of the lead when he teed off at 1:27 p.m. Eastern time and it looked like things were going to start very well for the four-time Masters champion. After choosing not to yesterday, Woods opted for the driver on the 445-yard par-4 1st hole and hit a monster 340-yard bomb down the fairway, leaving him just 92 yards from the pin for his second. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take advantage as he hit his approach past the flag and watched his ball trickle off the green, leaving an awkward chip that he left short. He missed the 18-foot par putt and dropped to 2-over for the tournament.

After four disappointing pars on the par-5s in his first round, Tiger once again couldn’t take advantage in his first attempt on Friday. His drive clipped a tree approximately 230 yards down the left side. It did end up in the fairway but he was left with about 330 yards to the hole. He hit his second to about 75 yards but couldn’t get a wedge close on his third and was left with a 31-foot putt for birdie, which he rolled about four feet past. He was able to make his five but it was another missed opportunity.

Woods nearly drove the short 350-yard, par-4 3rd hole and was left with a short chip for his second shot, which he played masterfully to about seven feet. However, he couldn’t convert the birdie putt and walked away with yet another disappointing par.

After a poor tee shot on the par-3 4th hole, Tiger was able to make a great up-and-down for par that perhaps was a sign that his round could turn around. That was not the case. He went with 3-wood off the tee at the 455-yard, par-4 5th hole but he found the patrons off to the right of the fairway. He had a good lie and a decent angle in but he hit a flyer and his ball ended up in the trees beyond the green, not a good spot at all. After finally locating his ball, Woods had to take a drop and then still had to go through the trees, hoping to just hit it in the greenside bunker, which he was able to do. He hit his bunker shot five feet from the hole and made the ensuing putt but walked away from the hole 3-over for the day and 4-over for the tournament.

After pars at the 6th and 7th, Woods once again came to a par-5 with the hope of getting at least one stroke back and things looked pretty good off the tee. He flew the long bunker down the right side and had just 240 left to the hole for his second but he came up short and left, leaving him with another delicate chip. He flopped it up nicely and was left with only 11 feet for birdie but he never gave the putt a chance and it missed left. Tiger would tap in for par.

After another monster drive, a 316-yard blast down the fairway at the 9th, Woods hit another poor iron and his approach rolled away from the green. He chipped up to 15 feet and did make a wonderful par save but he played the front nine in 3-over 39 and didn’t make a single birdie.

Needing to make something happen, Tiger came to the 10th and hit a 319-yard drive and hit his 182-yard approach to about 35 feet. He had a tricky putt but was able to lag it up nicely and tap in for yet another par.

At the 505-yard, par-4 11th, Woods hit his tee shot just off to the right, leaving him a little bit of tree trouble for his second. He was 205 yards away from the hole and just getting it on the green seemed like a long shot. However, he hit a low sweeper around and got on but was left with a very fast putt coming back for his birdie. He hit it seven feet past but was able to save par to remain at 4-over.

After hitting his ball in the water at the 12th on Thursday, Tiger came to the par-3 12th hoping for a better result on Friday. That wouldn’t happen. Once again off to the right, Woods’ ball hit the bank and rolled into Rae’s Creek. He was, however, able to hit a nice pitch to three feet and save a bogey but another dropped shot left him at 5-over for the tournament and right on the cut line.

After six straight pars on the par-5s to open this championship, Tiger finally got himself a birdie at the 510-yard, par-5 13th. His 321-yard drive found the second cut of rough on the right side but he was left with a good angle to the pin and found the middle of the green with his approach, leaving him a 40-foot putt for eagle. He lagged it nicely and was left with a tap-in for his first birdie on a par-5 this week and his first birdie of the afternoon to get back to 4-over.

Tiger hit a great 298-yard drive on the par-4 14th and was left with just 139 yards to the hole for his second. His approach finished 26 feet from the hole but his birdie effort ran out of gas and he was left with a tap-in par to remain at 4-over.

Looking to capitalize off the momentum from his birdie at the 13th, Tiger came to the par-5 15th hoping for the same result, if not a better one. He hit his drive in the fairway but was left with a little bit of tree trouble if he wanted to access the back-left hole location. He hit a solid draw and ended up just off the back in two with a quick putt coming down for eagle. He judged the pace nicely and got another shot back with his second birdie of the day to get to 3-over for the tournament.

With a tough hole location in the back on the par-3 16th, Woods was able to get the ball back there but was left with a very tricky left-to-right putt that ran the risk of going down the hill if struck too hard, which is almost what happened. The ball took a good look at the cup but ran about eight feet past, leaving yet another tricky putt, which Tiger also missed to give him a bogey. With two holes to play, Woods was at 4-over for the tournament.

Going with the driver, Tiger hit his tee shot down the right side, just off the fairway but still in good shape. He had to hit a little draw around the trees from 138 yards but hit a solid approach to about 15 feet. In what may have been his best birdie effort of the day that wasn’t one of the tap-ins, Woods’ putt just slid right at the end and he had to settle for a par. With one to go, he needs a bogey or better to play the weekend.

Tiger hit another nice drive on the 18th, just to the right of the left-side bunker. He was left with 162 yards to the hole and hit a nice approach but much like the rest of his day, he just couldn’t find the magic and left with another ho-hum par. He finished the day with a 3-over 75 and 4-over for the tournament, at the time 14 shots behind leader Patrick Reed and tied for 40th.

Tiger will be around for the weekend but he’ll be going off pretty early being so far back. With the weather expected to be an issue and some of the pressure off (there’s zero chance he wins this golf tournament), perhaps he can go out, have a little fun and put up a low number. Did he want to play better over the first two days? Well, of course he did and the story would have been great had he been in the mix heading into the weekend.

But after not knowing at this time a year ago if he would ever play golf again, seeing Tiger Woods make the cut at The Masters is still a good thing and still a pretty good story. More reps means more consistency and that’s what he’s looking for right now. The Tiger saga isn’t going anywhere, folks. It’s just getting started so you better start getting used to it.

Next: Top 10 shots in Masters history

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