Tiger Woods had a narrow escape, but he will be able to make the weekend rounds at the PGA Championship. The “Tiger” fell back on its feet on the second day of competition by delivering a card of 69 (-1) on Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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The 46-year-old American had got into trouble the day before with an initial 18 holes finished in 74 shots (4). His performance was much more convincing on his second pass on the Southern Hills course.
Woods seems to have dealt better with his right leg soreness late in the round. Failing to put enough weight on his badly damaged leg in February 2021, he had committed five bogeys on the last nine holes. This time he had four birdies, including three on the back nine. His day was also marked by a bogey and a double bogey at the 11th pennant.
The four-time winner of the event made one of the great comebacks of the day, climbing 46 positions to tie for 53rd place.
Up front, Rory McIlroy lost a few feathers and dropped to fifth. The leader after 18 holes has played 71 strokes (1) and is now ahead of Will Zalatoris, Mito Pereira, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson.
Zalatoris is first by virtue of his total score of 131 (-9). The 25-year-old wolf made no mistake to show a card of 65 (-5). The American is ahead of the Chilean Pereira by a single shot.
Only one Canadian, Saskatchewan’s Adam Hadwin, avoided the ax. His total of 144 (4) allows him to flirt with the cut, precisely established at 4.
His compatriots Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, tied at 9, were not so lucky, although they both improved on their result from the day before.
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