Tiger Woods started brilliantly Friday, but it was once again a struggle on the way back to the clubhouse.
Woods’ second round in the 2023 Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas got off to a brilliant start, making birdies on his first two holes and sitting 4 under thru 7 and at the turn. Similar to Thursday’s opening round, he struggled as the day wore on. However, Woods was five shots better Friday, shooting 2-under 70 at the unofficial event that benefits his TGR Foundation.
“It was better than yesterday, for sure,” Woods said. “I’ve been more committed than I was yesterday. I made a few mistakes and overall the round was better, for sure. The start was better, the middle part of the round was better. I missed a couple putts there towards the end I thought would have kept the round going and unfortunately it kind of stalled out a little bit. Certainly better than it was yesterday.”
Woods made bogey after a three putt from 13 feet on the par-4 13th. Then, with only 182 yards left on his second shot into the par-5 15th, he made bogey after his birdie putt rolled back into a greenside bunker where he played his third shot from.
TIGER TRACKER: Woods’ second round with shot-by-shot analysis
Then on the par-4 16th, his approach shot came up short, and he was unable to get up and down, marking his third bogey in four holes.
He stopped the bleeding with a long birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole, salvaging the day and giving him a bit of momentum heading into the weekend.
When his second round finished, Woods ranked first in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, but he was dead last in putting among the 20 players in the field. However, he sits at 1 over for the tourney after 36 holes in his return to action after nearly eight months.
