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Woods blames bad habits for missed cut

Tiger Woods struggled on the greens © Getty Images

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Tiger Woods insisted it was a case of old swing habits undermining his play as he missed the eighth cut of his career at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Woods failed to qualify for the weekend at Quail Hollow after a second round of 73 saw him sit just level-par for the tournament after 36 holes. The cut, for the top 70 and ties, eventually fell at one-under.

It is the second time he has missed the cut at the event - the 14-time major champion's first such repeat experience - and just the eighth time he has not made it to the weekend on the PGA Tour, four of them coming in the last four years.

Woods blamed his play on the par-fives for his failure this week in North Carolina, as he made just two birdies from eight opportunities at the longer holes.

"The entire week I didn't play the par-fives well," said Woods. "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.

"I'm not playing the weekend where I have a chance to compete for a title. I've missed my share of cuts in the past, and they don't feel good. This is one of my favorite Tour stops, and unfortunately I'm just not going to be around for the last two days."

When pressed on the cause behind his erratic play, Woods was adamant that it was a case of slipping back into the bad habits of his old swing - from the time when his coach was Hank Haney - rather than due to poor advice from new guru Sean Foley.

"It all has to do with my setup," Woods said. "If I get over the golf ball and I feel uncomfortable, I hit it great. It's just that I get out there and I want to get comfortable, and I follow my old stuff, and I hit it awful.

"I know what I need to do, it's just I need more reps doing it.

"We've changed a bunch of different things, and every now and again I fall into the same old stuff. That doesn't work - a combo platter of old and new. It takes time to get rid of old patterns. It takes hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of golf balls, but eventually it comes around.

"I've had my share of successes, and I know it's coming."

Woods' playing partners agreed that the former world No. 1 is getting close to rediscovering his best form, but suggested his putting is one area that clearly needs to improve.

"I think he's actually getting there. I know that sounds ridiculous because he used to look horrible and win tournaments but I think he's hitting a lot of good shots," Geoff Ogilvy said. "I think he's doing a lot of good stuff, but he has to putt better."

Webb Simpson, who sits second on the halfway leaderboard, added: "I've only played with him a few times, so I don't know his game that well. But you know, he hit a lot of good shots, and I think it wouldn't surprise me at all if he's playing next week really well."

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