Tiger Woods sinks in the desert sand

Tiger Woods was doused in misery at the Phoenix Open after shooting an 82 in the second round

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Tiger Woods slips outside the top 100 for the first time in his professional career

 

Report by Anand Datla

 

January 31, 2015: It is not often that you see Tiger Woods needing over a 40 shots just to navigate nine holes of a golf course. His confirmation for the Phoenix Open had an uplifting impact on the interest surrounding the tournament, with media and fans flocking in large numbers to watch one of the most prolific golfers to have wielded a club. Unfortunately though the TPC Scottsdale will now have to deal with his unseemly absence through the weekend. Woods played one of the worst rounds of his professional career to slip to the bottom of the chart and out of the tournament at the halfway stage. Woods endured a nightmare in daylight as he fumbled through sand and water to sign off with a litany of bogeys, that tarnished his card.

 

On a day when nothing seemed to go right for the beleaguered 14-time major champion, he needed 44 shots to get through his first nine holes. Woods started on the tenth hole and though he made par to start his day, things unraveled very quickly from there. As he tumbled downhill and out of the tournament Woods needed 14 strokes to complete the 14th and 15th holes – a double bogey six first and a triple bogey eight at the next. He also made three other bogeys including two straight before making the turn with a grimace on his hurting visage.

 

Beginning the second nine with three straight pars, it was evident Woods was already playing for pride more than anything else. Another double bogey at the fourth hole saw him slip deeper and he sank into neck deep trouble giving away consecutive bogeys at the 6th and 7th holes. The heightened attention around Woods’s miserable round were only making things worse for the struggling American.

 

Unlike his outing during the 2002 Open Championship when inclement weather complicated matters for Woods, the desert course in Arizona was a benign beast that had barely anything to do with his misery. It was an unlikely implosion for the seasoned golfer, just as the golfing world was beginning to warm up to the prospect of a successful return for the marquee golfer.

 

Unfortunately though, Woods finished the day with the worst round of his professional career, shooting an incredibly dismal 82 to add to a 73 in the first round.

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