Tiger Woods has reacted to seem almost certain to lose the cut at Memorial to produce two birds in the last three holes to survive until the weekend. Yet, as much as this great escape reminded the game of the 44-year-old’s enduring competitive spirit, for Woods himself, this was further proof of Father Time’s cruelty.
“Aging isn’t fun,” said Woods after his 76 years. “At the beginning of my career I thought it was fantastic because I was getting better and better. And now I’m just trying to resist.”
In all fairness, this was Woods’ first competitive event in five months and only its third in 2020. Rust was inevitable. Except that it was worrying that after killing his third hole (the twelfth) when he hit his tee shot less than two feet on the 170-yard par three, he continued to throw six shots in the next eight holes.
Woods’ back was sore and his body language betrayed him. “I wasn’t moving as well as I wanted and I couldn’t go back and I couldn’t clarify: it was a bit of a struggle,” said Woods, the five-time Memorial champion. “It started this morning during the warm-up. It wasn’t quite as good as I’d like. [But] I’ve finished birdie-birdie-par and that’s the only positive today. I wish I had the opportunity to play tomorrow. “
Next to Woods at Muirfield Village, Rory McIlroy shot a level of 72 for two under, five better than his playmate. The Northern Irishman is facing a fight for position no. World 1 this weekend with Jon Rahm looming menacingly on the leaderboard on a mission to become only the second Spaniard in history to climb the leaderboards.
Jose Maria Olazabal never did it and neither did Sergio Garcia, despite both winning the Master. The late Severiano Ballesteros is alone and since the great conqueror seems to be Rahm’s inspiration, get ready for a rich Iberian emotion if the 25-year-old climbs the top of Ohio.
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