Matsuyama and the shot that won the Masters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quail Hollow’s practice putting green is only 200 yards from the area adjacent to the clubhouse where players meet with the media. The setup was especially convenient for Tiger Woods after a first-round 71 that was defined by poor putting. He needed 31 putts in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods headed directly to the practice green after finishing his post-round interview around 6:30 p.m. He started stroking 5-foot putts between two tees that guided his putter down the proper path. Woods said he had trouble judging the speed of greens whose firmness belied their slow speed. He missed four putts inside 8 feet, including 4-footers on Nos. 14 and 16. He three-putted the 16th hole from just 15 feet after running his birdie putt by the hole. He had to hole a 17-footer for par on the par-3 17th hole after leaving his first putt well short and missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th green after a strong approach from a fairway bunker. “(The greens) feel springy and they feel fast, especially as I’m walking on them, but they’re not putting that way,� Woods said. “What I was feeling and sensing just didn’t match up.� Woods lost 1.27 strokes on the greens Thursday, ranking 120th in the 156-man field in strokes gained: putting. He started the week ranked eighth (+0.74) in that statistic. Woods won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2007, and finished no worse than 11th in his first four appearances here, but this is his first time at Quail Hollow since 2012. The greens were bentgrass when Woods won but have since been changed to Bermudagrass. He ranked 17th in strokes gained: off-the-tee on Thursday after hitting 13 greens. “Ball-striking-wise, I’m fine,� Woods said. “If I make a couple putts, I’d be 2 or 3 under par, which is fine.� Besides the short putts he missed at 14 and 16, Woods also made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the par-5 10th hole. He won’t have to wait long to try to make amends for those mistakes. He is scheduled to tee off at 7:40 a.m. He’ll start the second round six shots behind leader John Peterson, who used back-to-back eagles to shoot 65.

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods has missed the cut at the PGA Championship. It’s just his ninth missed cut in a major as a pro. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Tiger’s up-and-down Round 1 | Rethinking Tiger’s future | Tiger ‘welcomes’ playing in Olympics Expectations were high when Woods arrived on Long Island after his victory in last month’s Masters, but he made too many unforced errors on Thursday and struggled to find fairways Friday. He finished 36 holes at 5-over 145 (72-73). ROUND 2: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE No. 18 (par 4, 411 yards): Tiger hits his third fairway of the day but he misses the green on Bethpage Black’s short par-4 finishing hole. He gives a valiant effort on his chip but it runs by the hole and he will be going home. He makes the 5-foot par putt but it won’t be enough. He finishes 5 over and will miss the cut in a major for the ninth time as a pro. Fairway: Missed (3 of 14) Green: Missed (9 of 18) Putts: 1 (30) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 17 (par 3, 207 yards): It’s going to come down to the last hole. Woods needs to birdie 18 to make the cut. He hit his tee shot on this 193-yard hole to 39 feet, then two-putted for par. He holed a 4-foot par putt to keep his weekend chances alive. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (9 of 17) Putts: 29 Score: 3 (+3, +5 overall) No. 16 (par 4, 490 yards): Another par for Tiger, but that’s not what he needs right now. He’ll have to birdie one of the last two holes to make the cut. Tiger’s tee shot and approach both landed in the fringe. He two-putted from 25 feet for par.  Fairway: Missed (2 of 13) Green: Missed (8 of 16) Putts: 27 Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 15 (par 4, 484 yards): Tiger makes his first par since the eighth hole, but he needs another birdie to avoid a missed cut. He hit his second fairway of the day, then hit his 170-yard approach to 34 feet. He two-putted for par to keep his cut hopes alive. Fairway: Hit (2 of 12) Green: Hit (8 of 15) Putts: 2 (26) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 14 (par 3, 161 yards): Tiger’s fourth three-putt of the week results in a bogey on the shortest hole on the course. A poor approach was the culprit. He hit it to 55 feet from just 160 yards. He’ll need to play the last four holes in 1 under to have a chance at the weekend. He hasn’t had a par since the eight hole, making four bogeys and two birdies in his last six holes. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (7 of 14) Putts: 3 (24) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 13 (par 5, 608 yards): A hard-earned birdie on the Black Course’s only par-5 on the back nine. He had to lay up after driving into a fairway bunker, but then hit his 160-yard approach to 9 feet. He’s sandwiched three bogeys between birdies on 9 and 13. Four over may be enough to make the cut but he can’t afford to drop another shot on the last five holes. Fairway: Missed (1 of 11) Green: Hit (6 of 13) Putts: 1 (21) Score: 4 (+2, +4 overall) No. 12 (par 4, 515 yards): Tiger was just inches from hitting his second fairway of the day. He hit the green from 213 yards, but three-putted for another bogey. It’s his third three-putt of the week. He needs some birdies coming in if he wants to be around for the weekend. Fairway: Missed (1 of 10) Green: Hit (5 of 12) Putts: 3 (20) Score: 5 (+3, +5 overall) No. 11 (par 4, 435 yards): Tiger is mixing things up a bit. He missed this fairway to the right. He’s still hit just one today. From 194 yards out, he tried to play a nifty shot from the rough, choking down on a fairway wood to punch it out of the rough. He squeezed his ball between the bunkers in front of the green, but it ran into the rough behind the green. A poor chip from there left Woods with a 12-foot par putt. He missed that to fall to 4 over for the first time this week. And now he’s on the wrong side of the cut line. Fairway: Missed (1 of 9) Green: Missed (4 of 11) Putts: 2 (17) Score: 5 (+2, +4 overall) No. 10 (par 4, 502 yards): Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Another miss to the left off the tee. This is becoming a theme. Just like Thursday, he has to lay up again on this long par-4. He wedges to 11 feet from 109 yards, but he misses the par putt. He’s back on the cut line with eight holes remaining.  Fairway: Miss (1 of 8) Green: Miss (4 of 10) Putts: 2 (15) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 9 (par 4, 460 yards): A strong finish to the front nine. Tiger hit the fairway and the green and rolled in his 40-foot birdie putt. That will provide a little breathing room on the back nine as Tiger hopes to stay inside the cut line. It looks like he’s playing for a cut with his tee shots but the ball just isn’t fading. That’s why all his misses have been left. His iron play has been solid when he’s had the opportunity to hit approaches from short stuff. Fairway: Hit (1 of 7) Green: Hit (4 of 9) Putts: 1 (13) Score: 3 (E, +2 overall) No. 8 (par 3, 210 yards): A straightforward par. And that’s a good thing at this point. Tiger hit his 201-yard tee shot to 22 feet, then two-putted for par. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (3 of 8) Putts: 2 (12) Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall) No. 7 (par 4, 524 yards): Another fairway missed. This one was left, as well. He could only hack out on this brutish par-4. He hit a strong wedge shot to 6 feet but missed the putt for his second bogey of the day. Fairway: Missed (0 for 6) Green: Missed (2 for 7) Putts: 2 (10) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 6 (par 4, 408 yards): Left. Again. He still hasn’t hit a fairway, but he collects his first birdie of the day after hitting his 133-yard approach to 18 feet. He holed the putt from the fringe to get back to even par for the day. Fairway: Missed (0 for 5) Green: Missed (2 for 6) Putts: 0 (8) Score: 3 (E, +2 overall) No. 5 (par 4, 478 yards): Left again with the driver. He’s missed the first four fairways today. The rough is no place to be at Bethpage Black. He’s able to advance it into a greenside bunker. He blasted his ball to 9 feet and made the putt to stay on the correct side of the cut line. Fairway: Missed (0 for 4) Green: Missed (2 for 5) Putts: 1 (8) Score: 4 (+1, +3 overall) No. 4 (par 5, 517 yards): We’ll have to wait another hole for Tiger to hit his first fairway. He’s missed left both times he’s unsheathed the big stick today. That necessitates a lay-up. His spotty wedge play continued on the third shot, though, as he hit the 75-yarder to 25 feet. He two-putts for par and fails to take advantage of another hole that offers the rare birdie opportunity at Bethpage Black. Nos. 1, 2 and 4 are three of the four easiest holes on the course. He played them in 1 over. Tiger is now 13 shots behind Brooks. Fairway: Missed (0 for 3) Green: Hit (2 for 4) Putts: 2 (7) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 3 (par 3, 230 yards): Tiger gave himself a great birdie chance after lasering a long-iron to 11 feet on this 221-yard hole. Unfortunately, it’s the second consecutive day that he’s unable to convert on a strong tee shot on the course’s toughest par-3. He missed a 9-foot birdie putt here on Friday. Tiger had to work hard for par after racing the birdie putt by, but he holed his 4-foot par putt to avoid dropping another shot. Fairway: NA Green: Hit (1 for 3) Putts: 2 (5) Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall) No. 2 (par 4, 389 yards): The second hole is the shortest par-4 at Bethpage Black but Tiger missed the fairway with an iron off the tee. He could only hack out, leaving himself a 90-yard wedge shot for his third. That shot spun back, some 20 feet short of the hole. Bethpage’s first two holes are the second- and fourth-easiest on the course, but Tiger has played them in 1 over. Another Brooks birdie means Tiger is now 12 back and, more importantly, on the cut line. Fairway: Missed (0 for 2) Green: Missed (0 for 2) Putts: 2 (3) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 1 (par 4, 430 yards): A sloppy start. Tiger missed both the fairway and the green on Bethpage’s opening hole, but he salvaged par with a strong sand shot. He pulled his opening tee shot into the fans, which was a thrill for the New Yorkers but a headache for security. It took several minutes for the rowdy gallery members to clear out and give Tiger enough room to gouge his ball out of the thick stuff. He bounced that shot into the bunker, but he left himself plenty of green to work with. He finished it off with a 4-foot birdie putt. Brooks made an easy birdie, though, and Tiger is now 10 back. Fairway: Missed (0 for 1) Green: Missed (0 for 1) Putts: 1 (1) Score: 4 (E, +2 overall)

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Cameron Smith made his record-tying 10th birdie of the round on the 17th hole, helping power his one-shot victory at The Players Championship on Monday.

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