Struggling Woods not ready to call it a season

Associated Press

SHEBOYGAN, WIS.

Tiger Woods isn’t ready to give up on the season just yet.

Even after another disappointing day at the PGA Championship — where his sand wedge replaced his putter as the main player in his nightmare — Woods committed to playing next week in the Wyndham Championship, giving him one more chance to squeak into the FedEx Cup playoffs.

That almost certainly won’t happen at Whistling Straits, where Woods was at 4 over, tied for 89th, with five holes to play when a storm hit Friday afternoon and suspended the second round.

When he returns Saturday morning, he’ll face a chip shot from the deep rough on No. 14. He would need to get up and down from there, then probably make two birdies over the last four holes to make the cut, which is projected at 2 over.

He entered the week ranked 186th in the FedEx standings, and only the top 125 make the playoffs. If things don’t change drastically over the last five holes here, Woods would have to finish at least second alone next week in the regular-season finale in Greensboro, North Carolina, to reach the top 125.

The day actually looked somewhat promising at the beginning for Woods. He made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 to briefly get to 1 over.

Then, he started flailing in the sand.

Standing well below the ball in a greenside bunker on No. 4, Woods took a huge chunk of sand, but instead of flying out, the ball popped up and dribbled into the next bunker down. That led to a double bogey. On No. 8, he did a good job to save bogey after his approach shot came to rest at the back of a greenside bunker and the shot out of the sand traveled only a few feet, into the deep rough.

Woods shot 37 on the front, then made four straight pars on the back and was facing the tough up and down on 14 when the sirens blew to halt play.

His driving was still a mess. He hit only four of 11 fairways. His putting got a little bit better. He needed 20 putts to get through the first 13 greens — a better rate than Thursday, when he putted a total of 33 times and was asking, to no one in particular, “How bad am I putting?” with an expletive thrown in there, too.

He didn’t stop to talk after his rain-shortened stay Friday.

Daly puts 3 balls and 1 club into Lake Michigan

John Daly put three golf balls into Lake Michigan. And one golf club.

Daly suffered another mini-meltdown in a major Friday in the PGA Championship when he hit three tee shots into the lake to the right of the par-3 seventh hole. The fourth found the green, and after taking a few steps, Daly heaved his 6-iron into the water.

“It shows you care, that’s all,” Daly said as he walked to this parking lot. “I’m sure I’ll get reprimanded for it.”

Daly made a 10 on the hole.

It was the 17th time in his one-of-a-kind PGA Tour career that he made a 10 or more on a hole. His personal best is an 18 at the Bay Hill Invitational in 1998.

Daly, who earned a lifetime exemption to the PGA Championship with his 1991 victory at Crooked Stick, wound up with an 82. He was right on the projected cut line when his round came crashing — or splashing, in this case — down.

“I know we all go through it,” he said. “But I seem to go through it more than anybody.”

He said he had his clubs tweaked to make sure he was hitting his typical right-to-left shot. But when he stepped on the seventh tee, his 4-iron sailed right into the lake. Daly went down to a 6-iron and got the same result. The third try was no different. Finally, he hit the green and then heaved the club.