Tiger Woods shot a +6 on Friday at the U.S. Open, and missed the cut with an overall score of +16. He missed the cut in a major for the fifth time as a professional and the second time in his last three major appearances.
It is only the second time Woods has missed the cut at the U.S. Open, the other was 2006 when he shot +12 over the first two days.
Until Friday, that marked Woods’ worst-ever score through 36 holes in a major tournament as a professional. This was only the third time in Woods’ career he was more than six-over-par in a major as a professional.
Woods’ downfall was his first round, where he shot a 10-over-par 80, tied for the third-worst score in the round. It also tied Woods’ worst score to par in a major since turning pro in 1996.
From 1996 to 2014, Woods completed 1,241 rounds as a pro worldwide and had one round in the 80s. In 16 rounds this year, he has three rounds in the 80s. He has only shot two rounds in the 60s.
Tiger's 80 on Thursday was surprising because it came on a day that was statistically the easiest opening round at a U.S. Open since 2003. It also came on the day when there were the most under-par rounds in a first round at a U.S. Open since 1992.
Woods’ undoing this year has been his first nine holes of the tournament, and the U.S. Open was no different. Tiger was four over par in his first nine holes in the U.S. Open, and has now been over par on his first nine holes of each PGA TOUR start this season (excluding the Farmers Insurance Open, where he withdrew and didn't post an official 9-hole score).
Woods entered the U.S. Open ranked 195th in the world. The newest rankings projections show Tiger at 205 next week, which would be his lowest since becoming a professional.
