Tiger Woods needs a strong comeback performance to qualify for the Tour Championship
Tiger Woods will need a big final two rounds this weekend to qualify for the Tour Championship after back-to-back 1-under 71 rounds at the BMW Championship.
At 2-under, he’s currently tied for 44th out of 69 players at Medinah Country Club as of late Friday afternoon.
Woods came into the tournament in 38th place in the FedEx Cup standings and will need an 11th-place finish or better to make the qualifying cut. The top 30 in the standings move on to the Tour Championship at East Lake, where Woods won the title last year.
Woods struggles with consistency
Woods had a strong start, with four straight pars in the second round, but followed it by going birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. He finished the front nine at even par.
Clutch @TigerWoods touch.
He birdies both par 5s on the front nine @BMWchamps. pic.twitter.com/08UU6EXOfH— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 16, 2019
He made three birdies to go 3-under through 15 holes. But he bogeyed on 16 and 17 while he struggled with putting.
Doesn’t get much better than that. @TigerWoods hits his approach to two feet, setting up his third 🐦 of the day.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/S7cHp2Idsd
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 16, 2019
Woods won the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships at Medinah. His Tour Championship last year was the first win for Woods in five years and his 80th overall.
What Woods is up against
Woods pulled out of The Northern Trust, the first FedEx Cup playoff event, due to a mild oblique strain. He hasn’t shown signs of any injury or pain but is showing some rust.
He already had a mountain to climb and the field isn’t making it easier.
Hideki Matsuyama, who was 33rd in the standings at the top of the week, set a course record at Medinah with a 9-under 63 on Friday. He made nine birdies and is projected in the top three of the standings. He’s held the lead for much of Friday at 12-under.
New course record at Medinah CC (No. 3). ☑️
Lowest round this season. ☑️
Hideki Matsuyama arrived in Chicago No. 33 in the #FedExCup standings and is currently projected No. 3.
He's been to the @playofffinale five years in a row.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/aOyvmIqHZl— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 16, 2019
Adam Hadwin is also projected to move closer to the top 30 from his spot at 51. He shot rounds of 67-68 and is 9-under overall.
Americans Lucas Glover and Kevin Tway as well as Canadian Rory Sabbatini have all posted strong rounds to project into the top 30 from at least 10 spots outside of the cut.
Woods is projected to fall seven spots after his first two rounds. There are still two rounds left in the BMW Championship, which is a no-cut event.
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