ARDMORE, Pa. -- Tiger Woods has never won a golf tournament when he was over par after two rounds. After playing 26 holes on Friday at the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, Woods finished the second round at 3-over par.
Three over isn’t as foreboding as it sounds, though. Despite the rainy week that dumped up to a half a foot of rain on the course, forced a suspension of the first round on Thursday and turned the fairways into a slow, muddy quagmire, Merion has taken a bite out of the field.
Three-over par left Woods tied for 27th place, but just five shots off the lead. With two rounds remaining in the tournament, Woods has plenty of time to make up the ground.
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However, Woods has several factors working against him.
One is that Woods is 0 for 47 in comebacks to win at a major tournament. He rallied to finish fourth in The Masters last April and came from off the pace to finish third in last year’s British Open.
But a late charge at the U.S. Open at Merion will take a little extra effort for Woods since it appears as if he is playing hurt with a sore left elbow.
The injury happened, “a few weeks ago,” according to Woods when he was, “playing golf.”
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Actually, Woods was playing and winning at golf at the Players Championship last month at TPC Sawgrass. Though he injured his elbow, Woods shot minus-13 to win by two shots. However, when Woods played in the Memorial three weeks after the Players, he finished tied for 65th and shot a career-worst 44 for nine holes during the third round.
Woods has fared much better at Merion where he played the final eight holes of the first round on Friday morning to card a 3-over 73. During the second round later in the afternoon, Woods shot an even-par 70, though showed some fatigue.
Through his second round, Woods was flexing his left elbow and grimacing as if in pain. Yet when asked about it afterwards, Woods was curt and evasive, responding with one-word answers.
He did elaborate when asked about the fatigue of finishing eight holes in the morning before turning around and playing 18 more. That fatigue was exacerbated by the fact that Woods was playing in a major tournament at Merion, a course that appeared to have its teeth.
Play has been slow through the opening rounds. On top of that, it’s been difficult.
“It’s not exactly like we're playing fast out there. They're just slow rounds,” Woods said. “You have to wait for other players to hit off all their tees, some of the crossovers, at 3 and 6, it takes its toll on you. It's long days. But granted, if you make the cut, everybody is going to be facing it one of the days. You’re going to have a long day.”
Then again, maybe Woods’ injury isn’t as bad as it seems. Asked if he would even be playing golf this weekend if he wasn’t in a major championship, Woods gave one of his curt, one-word answers.
“Yes,” he said.