Tiger Woods slumped to his worst round as a professional when he carded an 11-over-par 82 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Friday.
The 14-time major winner, struggling in his return to competitive golf after a long layoff due to a back injury, had six bogeys, two double bogeys, a triple bogey and two birdies in the round.
“It’s golf, we all have days like this,” Tiger told reporters.”Unfortunately, mine was in a public forum, in a public setting.”
Woods, whose previous worst score was an 81 in foul weather in the third round of the 2002 British Open, retained a sense of humor despite his humbling showing.
“I’m just doing this so I don’t get fined,” he joked to reporters, echoing media-shy Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, who is playing in the Super Bowl in nearby Glendale on Sunday.
Friday’s round plunged Woods into last place in the field midway through the round at 13-over 155, 21 shots off the pace.
He struggled in all phases of his game in rainy conditions at TPC Scottsdale.
The former world number one sprayed drives, found water, flew approach shots over greens, flubbed chips and missed short putts in only his second event in five months after back pain for much of last year.
The embarrassing performance came after intense work with new swing coach Chris Como and a tie for last place last month in an event hosted by Woods at his previous home course of Isleworth outside Orlando.
Woods struggled mightily with his chipping game there, and it is still sorely lacking.
Ko grabs third-round lead in LPGA event
Lydia Ko has a shot at golf history after surging to the top of the standings on Friday at the LPGA Coates Golf Championship in Ocala, Fla.
The 17-year-old New Zealander fired a 7-under-par 65 in the third round for a one-stroke lead over Ha Na Jang. With a top-three finish in the opening event on the 2015 LPGA Tour, Ko would move past Inbee Park to the No. 1 ranking, becoming the youngest men’s or women’s player in golf history to hold the top spot.
“It would be great and it would be a huge honor to be in that position, but we’ve still got another long, 18 holes to go,” Ko said.
Ko, the No. 2 player in the Rolex world rankings who already has five career LPGA victories, was at 14-under 202 after 54 holes on the par-72 Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club course. Her round included nine birdies and three-putt, back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes that put her four shots behind Jang before Ko reeled off five straight birdies.
“You just never know what’s going to happen,” Ko said. “I’m just going to concentrate on my game, stay really positive and if somebody else shoots a much bigger score than I do, I can’t really do much about it. I’m just going to focus and hopefully I’ll be able to shoot a good score.”
Jang led the tournament after shooting a second-round 65 but slipped to a 1-under 71 and was alone in second place. Fellow South Korean Na Yeon Choi was in third at 12-under 204 after a third-round 66.
“She’s acting more mature than 17 years old, like at least 25,” Choi said of Ko.
American Stacy Lewis, the leading money-winner on the LPGA Tour last season, had sole possession of fourth at 10-under 206 after a 70.
Tied for fifth were South Korean Amy Yang and Americans Jessica Korda and Austin Ernst. Yang had the best score of the three in the third round with a 65.
Park, the current No. 1-ranked player, was tied for 17th at 3 under.
Defending U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie was tied for 30th at 1-under after posting a 1-over-73. Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, made the cut at 4 over after a third-round 73.