Tiger Woods’ return to full PGA Tour competition turned out to be somewhat of a damp squib at the Farmers Insurance Open as he failed to build any momentum to miss the cut for just the 16th time in his 328 starts on the US circuit.
The 14-time major winner – who has won seven times at this tournament – struggled to a 76 in the first round and could not make any inroads on that four over par score on Friday in a group void of any fireworks.
Grouped with Jason Day and Dustin Johnson there was much expected of the three-ball but in the end their combined bad play seemed to bring the group down and all three finished outside the cut mark of level par, with Day at three over and Johnson at two over.
A birdie at his opening hole on the Torrey Pines North Course got Woods back to three over but he gave that shot back two holes later and could only manage one more birdie and one bogey after that.
Woods has undergone two back operations since his last regular tour appearance in August 2015. After a long lay-off he finally returned to tournament play at last month’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas but his rustiness was evident over the opening two rounds and he will not be around for the weekend action.
Shane Lowry looked to be cruising along comfortably inside the cut mark at two under before he was almost completely derailed by a triple bogey seven at the fourth – his 13th.
After driving in the bunker on the par four the Offalyman could only advance his second shot into the rough before his approach left him with 40 feet to save par.
However, an inexplicable four putt, including a miss from 18 inches, saw him walk off with a seven to slip back to one over and outside the level par mark.
However, Lowry maintained his composure to par the next hole before making a vital birdie at his 15th and three consecutive pars to finish to ensure that he slipped into the weekend right on the nunmber.
Meanwhile Pádraig Harrington was well outside the cut line at four over in his first start of the year, while Seamus Power also looked to be heading home early at three over with two to play.
Overnight leader Justin Rose looked solid again on day two as he birdied the fifth and the 10th on the south course to get to nine under and lead by two.
But the San Diego venue was playing particularly difficult on a blustery day and Rose would not be allowed away scot-free as bogeys at the 14th and 15th brought him back into a three-way tie for the lead at seven under.
But the former US Open champion is looking particularly strong this week after working on his putting stroke during the off-season with coach Phil Kenyon.
And it was that putting stroke that ensured he would take a one shot lead over Brandt Snedeker and Adam Hadwin into the final round when he rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at the par five 18th to card a round of 71 and a total of eight under.
