Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, in Louisville, Ky.
After missing two tournaments this year, dropping out of another and playing through one in pain, Tiger Woods missed the cut following the second day of play at the PGA Championship on Aug. 8.
Woods had surgery on his back on March 31 to alleviate pain caused by a pinched nerve, and told ESPN before the tournament began that he felt “a little stiff” but otherwise experienced no ill effects.
But that back problem recurred following a session at the driving range on the morning of Aug. 8, just before second-round play began. Woods attempted to play through the pain, but finished with a 3-over 74 and missed the cut by five strokes, totaling a 6-over in his first two rounds.
“It was sore. No doubt about it,” Woods told reporters. “It went out on me on the range. Just had to play through it.”
His first round of play also left much to be desired. Woods shot another 3-over-par 74 and finished the opening round nine shots behind leaders Lee Westwood and Kevin Chappell, who finished at 6-under.
“It wasn’t very good,” Woods told reporters of the first day. “A lot of bad shots, and I never got a putt to the hole. I hit them all on my lines, just for some reason I thought they were going to be a little quicker, and I didn’t make the adjustment well enough.”
The performance came at the Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky., the same course on which Woods made history in 2000 by winning his third straight major. Woods has won the PGA Championship four times, finished second two times and placed in the top five seven times. However, he has not won a major championship since the 2008 U.S. Open.
Woods’ season is now over, as he failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs beginning in late August.
