ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Tiger Woods missed the cut in his second consecutive major championship for the first time in his career.
Woods, who won the 2000 and 2005 British Opens at St. Andrews, finished 7-over for 36 holes after completing his second round Saturday, shooting 76-75, after having gone 36-under par in his first three Opens at the Old Course.
Woods finished tied for 147th, with just seven players below him, including 65-year-old Tom Watson, 58-year-old Nick Faldo, 55-year-old Mark Calcavecchia and amateur Ben Taylor. Eight of the nine amateurs in the field shot lower scores than Woods.
“I felt like I was playing well enough to win this event,’’ Woods said. “On the very first hole on the first day, I fat a sand wedge in the water. I fatted my 3-iron off the tee, and then I fatted my 8-iron into the green on 2, drove it in a divot on 4. It was just one thing after another.
“I had my opportunities, I just didn’t get the ball close enough, and then when I did, I didn’t make them. It’s frustrating, there’s no doubt, because I’m not making those runs. To win major championships, I’ve always thought you needed to have two good nine-hole stretches. They don’t have to be in the same day, but you’ve got to have a nice run in there, and I haven’t done that at all.”
Woods has missed the cut in three majors since his last top-10 finish at the 2013 British Open.
“I’m just not scoring,” Woods said. “Every opportunity I have to make a key putt or hit an iron shot in there stiff with a short iron and get some momentum going, I haven’t done that. I haven’t gotten anything out of my rounds. I’ll hit good shots, I’ll string together some good shots and good holes and put myself in position to make a run, and I don’t do it.
“I think I only made three birdies in two days. That’s not very good.’’
There has been some speculation about how hard Woods has been working to get himself out his funk, because he didn’t play a practice round after Monday.
“I didn’t play,’’ he said. “I wanted to practice and not wear myself out. I don’t normally get here on a Saturday, and I thought I played a lot coming in. I got a chance to see both winds, which was nice. I saw an east wind and a west wind, so I felt pretty prepared for it, having seen both winds.’’
What now?
“Keep going,’’ Woods said. “Keep going forward. I play in a couple weeks in D.C., so looking forward to playing the Quicken Loans, and hopefully win that event so I can get into a place that I know very well.’’
When he was asked if he’s looking forward to a return to St. Andrews, Woods said: “When is it? It’s usually every five years, right? Yeah, so I’ll probably have less hair then and hopefully a little better game.
“I’ve won here a couple times. I wasn’t all that great in 2010 [and] obviously a little bit worse here in ’15. Next time it comes around, hopefully I play a little bit better than I did the last two times.’’