PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Tiger Woods paused on the ninth green and stared at a nearby leaderboard.
His name would have been on it if not for one hole.
Woods hit two balls in the water at the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass the first time hes done that in 69 rounds at The Players Championship and carded a quadruple-bogey 7 in the second round Friday. It was his worst score at the famed island green and matched his highest on any par 3 in 24 years on the PGA Tour.
Woods rebounded with two birdies on the front side, leading to a 1-under 71 and leaving him at 3-under 141 for the tournament.
He was well back of the leaders, but felt he was still within range heading to the weekend.
Everyone who makes the cut, anyone who makes the cut, has a chance to win this golf tournament, Woods said.
Woods was 5 under and tied for eighth, two shots off the lead at the time, when he approached the courses signature hole. Thousands of fans surrounded the murky lagoon and were shocked when Woodss wedge shot from 146 yards away strayed a little left, landed pin high and rolled off the green. It went through the rough, across a wood beam and plunked into the water.
I was a bit surprised it went that far, said Woods, who made par or birdie on every other hole Friday. I took something off that wedge and it flew a lot further than I thought. The other guys took a little read off of that.
Woods said he would have dialed back his swing had he hit after playing partners Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson. But he was the first to play.
He made a beeline to the drop area and promptly hit another into the drink. This time, he hit another wedge too flat and too hot. The ball one-hopped off the green and into the water.
Both shots Im just trying to hit the ball into the slope and just walk away with a 20-, 25-footer and move on about my business, Woods said. I was pretty ticked, no doubt about that, and I was bound and determined to get it all back and get it back to (5 under), and I thought that would have been a hell of a fight. Ended up getting back to 3 (under).
Still was a good fight to get to that point, but as of right now Im six back, which is definitely doable on this golf course, especially with the weather coming in.
The forecast calls for cooler temperatures and a change in wind direction over the weekend, which could make scoring tougher on the Stadium Course.
Woods likes the way hes played so far aside from the one hole.
Im very happy with the way Ive been grinding around this golf course, he said. Ive missed a few opportunities to get up-and-down for birdie. Overall, I think Ive putted pretty solidly. Other than 17 today, I really havent done a whole lot wrong. I very easily could be up near that lead. Theres no way I would be leading, but I would be close enough to that lead given the weekend and the forecast.
Woods said his neck soreness caused him to miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week felt fine.
