CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tiger Woods holed a 13-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday to guarantee that he’ll stick around for the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods shot 73 to finish at 2-over 144. That was his only birdie as he struggled with the putter for a second consecutive day. He lost 2.9 stokes on the green Friday and has lost more than four strokes with his putter over the first two rounds. “I have to go work on it, fix it, and try to get a little more hit in my stroke,â€� said Woods, who’s 55th in the FedExCup. He missed three putts from 3-7 feet Friday, and his birdie putt at the last hole was the only putt he made from outside 10 feet. He was 1 for 5 from 10-15 feet in the second round. Woods started the week ranked eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+1.08). He had missed his previous two cuts at Quail Hollow, in 2010 and 2012. He also is scheduled to play next week’s THE PLAYERS Championship, which he won in both 2001 and 2013. FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS Justin Thomas was so upset with his putting that he switched putters after Thursday’s first round. How rare is such a move? He can’t remember the last time he switched to a new putter model in the middle of a tournament. The putter is one of Rickie Fowler’s backup Scotty Cameron 2s. When asked if he’d let Thomas keep the club, Fowler said, “He only lives a few hundred yards down the street, so it won’t be too far away. But if he keeps making putts, I might have to take it back.â€� The only deterrent for Thomas may be the fact that Fowler’s name is stamped on the back. His 69 was four shots lower than Thursday’s round, and kept alive his hopes of reaching No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He needs to finish solo 12th or better to assume the top spot. He already leads the FedExCup standings after winning last year’s Cup. Thomas admitted at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play that he put pressure on himself to assume the top position in the Official World Golf Ranking. He said that he has a better outlook on the honor now. “Someone told me, and it was a great way to put it, I’m not trying to have it for a week, I’m trying to have it for a long time,â€� Thomas said. “I can’t put too much pressure on having it because it’s not like it’s just going to be once and it will be done.â€� Thomas also extended his streak of cuts made in individual tournaments to 17. He missed the cut in last week’s Zurich Classic, but that was his first MC since last year’s Open Championship. He has nine top-10s in those 17 events, including four wins. He’s finished outside the top 25 just twice. Thomas could take over the No. 1 ranking the day after his home state’s largest sporting event, the Kentucky Derby, and take it into one of his favorite events. He shot a 65 in each of his first two PLAYERS Championships and finished third in 2016. NOTABLES Sam Burns went eagle-birdie-birdie on Nos. 7-9 to shoot 31 and take the lead at 7 under. He bogeyed three of his final four holes to shoot 70, though. He’ll still enter the weekend in the top 10. He’ll earn special temporary membership if he can stay there by Sunday evening. Burns needs 80 points to earn that status, which will allow him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. If he doesn’t his time on TOUR will be limited, at least for the time being. He’ll use the last of his seven allotted sponsor exemptions at the Fort Worth Invitational, then will play the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. He’s in that event as the winner of last year’s Nicklaus Award, which is given to the college player of the year. Burns has a TOUR card for next season all but locked up. He’s fifth on the Web.com Tour money list after winning the Savannah Golf Championship. Quail Hollow member Johnson Wagner shot even par on Friday after shooting a first-round 67 that included back-to-back eagles. “Playing late Saturday in my home tournament, I couldn’t be happier,â€� he said.
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