Tiger Woods had an up and down day but managed to post a 2-over 74 on Friday to make the weekend at The Masters.
Woods, who shot 71 in his opening round on his comeback from injuries suffered in a car crash, faltered early in the second round but managed to rebound on the back nine to finish two rounds at 1-over 145.
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That was good enough to make the cut, though Woods was nine shots off the lead held by Scottie Scheffler at the time he finished. He was in a tie for 19th.
Australian Cam Smith fought back with two late birdies to remain in contention.
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Smith started the day at four under but was back to even as the wild Augusta weather wreaked havoc on the star-studded field.
However, birdies at the 15th and 18th helped Smith climb back up the leaderboard where he is currently in a tie for seventh, to remain at 2-under for the tournament.
Woods bogeyed four of his first five holes to make the turn at 39. But he birdied the 10th hole from short range and made two more birdies coming in to offset two bogeys.
Scheffler, who shot 69 in his opening round, was 5 under for the day and 8 under for the tournament through 16 holes. He was five shots ahead of a quartet of players at 3 under.
Woods wasn’t in imminent danger of missing the cut, which was projected at 4 over, but was six shots off the lead held on the course by Scheffler heading into the back nine. His frustrations were evident when he hit a bad wedge shot on the ninth hole and dropped his club in disgust before rebounding to get up-and-down for par.
“Well, I don’t feel as good as I would like to feel. That’s okay,” Woods told the media afterwards.
“As I said, I’ve got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I’ll have one of those light bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done. You’ve seen guys do it with a chance going into the back nine. If you are within five or six going into the back nine, anything can happen. I need to get myself there. That’s the key. I need to get myself there.
“Tomorrow will be a big day. It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be tough. Again, the wind is supposed to blow again and tough scoring conditions. I need to go out there and handle my business and get into the red and get myself a chance going into that back nine on Sunday.”
Afternoon winds of 15-20 mph and gusting higher made conditions difficult, though the rains that came on the eve of the tournament meant the greens were still relatively soft.
MORE TO COME.