Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, May 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Tiger Woods, making his first start since a disappointing performance at the Masters, looked likely to miss the cut at Quail Hollow on Friday after a second-round 73.
He struggled with his accuracy off the tee but really suffered on the greens, needing 33 putts in his round.
Woods’s one-over par effort left him on even par 144, one shot above the projected cut line.
Although the cut wouldn’t be official until the round was over, Woods was resigned to what would be the eighth missed cut of his pro career.
“This is one of my favorite tour stops, and unfortunately, I’m just not going to be around for the last two days,” said Woods, who won at Quail Hollow in 2007.
Woods also missed the cut at Quail Hollow in 2010, not long after he returned to golf in the wake of the sex scandal that rocked his personal life.
American Nick Watney was the leader in the clubhouse after a sparkling 64 for 12-under 132, with Woods’s playing partner Webb Simpson a shot back on 133 after a second-round 68.
Woods, whose tie for 40th at the Masters was his worst ever finish at Augusta National as a professional, again couldn’t capitalize on good scoring conditions.
He failed to birdie any of the par-fives and said that as at the Masters, he allowed old habits to creep in and disrupt the new swing he has put together under the guidance of coach Sean Foley.
“It’s just that I get out there and I want to get comfortable, and I follow my old stuff,” he said. “I know what I need to do. It’s just I need more reps doing it.”
In an odd twist to the 14-time major champion’s day, Woods was awarded a free drop after a fan apparently walked off with his ball.
Going for the green at the par-five fifth Woods went 30 yards left of the green and over the gallery.
When Woods walked up, his ball was nowhere to be found.
Tour official Mark Russell spoke to several people who saw the ball land and determined that someone took it.
He allowed Woods a free drop at the spot where spectators said they saw it.
“There were about five or six people that ran over to the ball, and the next thing you know, we get down there and there’s hundreds of people and no ball,” Woods said.
“We looked around for a while, and then Mark came over there and analyzed the situation and what was going on.”
Australian Geoff Ogilvy, playing in the same group with Woods and Simpson, agreed with the general consensus that the ball had been taken.
“It got picked up for sure. There can’t be any doubt,” Ogilvy said. “I guess there’s a chance it could roll under the pine straw, but not when 500 people are there looking for it.
“Usually, Tiger’s ball, they all circle around and stare at the ball. And it was gone.”
Woods is enduring an erratic 2012 season. He withdrew in the final round at Doral with a sore Achilles tendon, then won at Bay Hill to claim his first PGA Tour title in more than two years.
That victory sent him into the Masters on a high, but he finished tied for 40th at Augusta National and drew stern criticism for a burst of temper in which he kicked a club after a poor tee shot.
Woods said he would just keep practising.
“The entire week, I didn’t play the par-fives well,” Woods said.
“Today I made four pars. You just can’t do that, especially when all of them are reachable with irons. I didn’t take care of the par-fives, missed a couple other little short ones for birdie, and consequently got no momentum during the round.”