Tiger Woods waits to tee off on the 2nd hole during the first round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods blames back issue for struggles at Memorial

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 7/17/20

Tiger Woods had a miserable day at the Memorial on Friday, shooting 4-over and putting his chances of making the cut in serious danger.

Woods shot at 71 on Thursday, putting him 1-under and leaving him in pretty good shape ahead of day two of the tournament. Friday, however, was very poor, as he shot a 76. He’s now at +3 for the tournament, leaving him unlikely to make the projected cut of +2.

Woods suggested that his back was a problem for him Friday, as it would be most days going forward.

Tiger said his back was an issue on Day 2 at the Memorial and that it started during his warm up. "It's going to happen more times than not these days," he said.

— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) July 17, 2020

Specifically he said he "couldn't quite turn back and couldn't quite clear. It was a bit of a struggle."

— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) July 17, 2020

This was Woods’ first PGA Tour appearance in five months, and while it didn’t show Thursday, it did Friday. Having undergone multiple back surgeries, it’s simply always going to be an issue for the 44-year-old. The layoff probably didn’t help matters either.

This is probably particularly frustrating for Woods, who thought he was rounding into form before the pandemic forced the postponement and cancellation of several weeks of events. Now he has to ramp up all over again.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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