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Woods misses Quail Hollow cut

Tiger Woods found the going difficult on Friday © Getty Images

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Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship on Friday, after stumbling to a second round of 73.

Woods, looking to build on a steady if unspectacular opening round of 71, began his second round on the 10th at Quail Hollow and started well with a birdie at the 11th, before dropping successive shots at the 12th and 13th.

It was symptomatic of the golf to come for Woods, as he scrambled for pars and saw birdie putts run wide - before giving up the shot he picked up at the 17th at the very next hole.

That sent him into the back nine knowing he probably needed to pick up at least one shot to make the cut, with his level-par total leaving him sitting just below the early one-under cut-off mark.

Yet, despite two par-fives at his disposal, the 14-time major champion could only cobble together a run of nine straight pars - including an anxious wait at the par-five fifth as he could not find his approach after hitting it 65 yards left of the green.

With the ball never found, after hearing testimony from nearby spectators rules officials eventually decided the ball had probably been taken by a rogue fan, allowing Woods a free drop in the general area it was believed to have initially come to rest. However, that slice of fortune did not help him get under par.

Woods faced an agonising wait for the rest of the field to finish to see if he would slip under the cut mark, but his wait was to end in disappointment as he finished narrowly outside the top 70 and ties.

One player who will be playing at the weekend, however, is Rory McIlroy - who famously won this tournament after making the cut by a single stroke back in 2010.

The Northern Irishman - celebrating his 23rd birthday - had a far less fraught Friday round this time, building on his two-under par opening round of 70 with a follow-up score of 68 to put him in a decent position to make a move on Saturday, albeit still six shots off the early pacesetters.

He was joined for the weekend by both Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson, who sneaked in at one-under for the tournament.

Nick Watney is the clubhouse leader, after a truly impressive round of 64 at a course that was not expected to offer up such good scoring.

The American moved to 12-under for the tournament with his eight-under par round - good enough to put him one shot clear of compatriot Webb Simpson, who carded a second round of 68.

Stewart Cink and Ben Crane both sit ten-under, as does John Senden - although at one point the Australian looked like threatening Watney's lead, before a bogey six at the seventh pegged him back.

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