Most people figured Tiger Woods would be flirting with the lead, not the cut, at the midway point of the 64th Masters Tournament.
But for the second day in a row, Woods struggled with his putter. And it almost cost him as he shot an even-par 72 Friday to finish 36 holes at 3-over par, one shot below the cut line.
``I've hit the ball well but I'm not making the putts,'' Woods said. ``Unfortunately, that is what you have to do here. I just haven't done it.''
A clear favorite coming into the tournament, Woods struggled to a 75 in Thursday's opening round. On Friday, he shot a 2-under 34 on the front before wobbling home with a 38 on the back nine.
Woods' putting woes are two-fold: He's having trouble reading the greens, and his stroke is admittedly off this week.
``It's tough to get a feel,'' said Woods, who still managed to birdie all four of the par-5s.
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Tiger Woods drops to his knees as he watches his eagle putt come up just short of the hole on the No. 15 green Friday.Jonathan Ernst/Chronicle Staff
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Woods almost made eagle on the 15th, but his 12-foot attempt veered off at the hole.
``About four feet out, I thought I'd made it,'' he said. ``I had my chances to go low today, but I didn't.''
A year ago, Woods hit the most greens in regulation, but struggled with his putter. The result was a tie for 18th.
The back nine proved troublesome for Woods for the second straight day. He made bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11, got those strokes back with birdies on the par-5s, then three-putted two of the last three holes.
``I'm hitting it pretty well,'' Woods said. ``I'm just not getting the ball in the hole as well as I should.''
All that's missing from a star-studded leaderboard is Woods, who trails David Duval by nine shots.
``A lot of the guys have won a lot of tournaments on that board,'' Woods said. ``I'm just going to try and play solid. And if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't.''
Poor putting harnesses Tiger
