Tiger Woods misses first cut since 1998 with bogey on final hole

Associated Press

IRVING, Texas -- The moment was packed with the kind of tension usually seen only at a major.

In the locker room at the Byron Nelson Championship, players huddled around the television as Tiger Woods stood over a 15-foot putt. Upstairs in the family dining area, about 60 people set down their silverware and stopped their chatter to watch. On the course, the 1,500 fans surrounding the 18th green went stone silent.

They witnessed something that had not happened on the PGA Tour in seven years and 142 tournaments.

Woods missed the cut.

''Every guy in the locker room was watching,'' Jesper Parnevik said. ''We're not allowed to bet, but guys were offering $1,000 he would make it.''

No wonder there were no takers.

Woods made a slippery 6-foot birdie putt at Torrey Pines three years ago to make the cut on the number. He made a downhill par putt from 4 feet in the Masters two years ago to do the same thing. And who can forget that 6-foot putt in the 2000 PGA Championship to force a playoff, or that 15-footer in the dark at the Presidents Cup.

Maybe that's what was so surprising about this one.

He studied the line from both sides, consulted his caddie, then stood over the ball and went through his routine. One look at the cup. Shift his feet and give it another look. A third look and pull the trigger.

The ball broke gently to the right toward the cup, then flattened out in the final 6 inches and trickled by, a dramatic end to one of the greatest streaks in sports.

The bogey gave him a 2-over 72 at Cottonwood Valley, leaving him at 1 over for the tournament to miss the cut by one shot. It was only the second time in his 10 years on tour that Woods missed the cut -- both times by one shot, both times with a bogey on the final hole.

''That's disappointing,'' Woods said, speaking calmly in the minutes after signing his card. ''I just didn't quite have it today.''

He didn't have his game on Friday. He doesn't have a tee time on Saturday.

''It was always going to come to an end eventually, wasn't it?'' Robert Allenby said. ''Obviously, it was a hell of a feat. That record will never be broken.''

The streak dated to the 1998 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, when Woods withdrew after two rounds instead of returning nearly seven months later to complete the rain-delayed tournament. The cut is made after 54 holes at Pebble Beach because it is played on three courses.

The only other time he missed the cut in his 10 years on tour was the 1997 Canadian Open at Royal Montreal, where he also made a bogey on the final hole to miss by one shot.

There have been 15 close calls over the years, most recently at The Players Championship when he bogeyed the final hole to make the cut on the number. But he always managed to come through.

''It's never a relief when you miss a cut,'' he said. ''I've missed two of them so far in my career, and neither of them felt very good. It's disappointing, because you're here for four rounds to try to compete and win a tournament. And now I don't get that opportunity.''

Woods leaves that to a collection of other players.

Sean O'Hair, the 22-year-old rookie who turned pro before he got out of high school, had an eagle on the par-5 16th on his way to a 65 that put him atop the leaderboard with Brett Wetterich (67) at 9-under 131.

Also in the mix are other members of the Big Five, starting with Vijay Singh.

Singh, who likely will return to No. 1 in the world now that Woods is out of the picture, shot a 67 and joined Phil Mickelson (66) in the group at 5-under 135.

Ernie Els, meantime, now has the longest active cut streak on tour -- 20 tournaments.