“Struggling Tiger Woods Faces Another Missed Cut as Shane Lowry Shines at The Open”
Tiger Woods was on the verge of missing the cut for a third consecutive time at The Open, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry surged ahead in pursuit of his second Claret Jug during day two at Royal Troon.
After an underwhelming opening round of 79, Woods had set his sights on a second-round score in the mid-60s to keep his weekend hopes alive. But those ambitions quickly unraveled, even with improved weather conditions. A poor chip from the second green led to a double bogey, and by the fifth hole, the 15-time major champion found himself 11 over par after failing to save par from a greenside bunker.
This year has been a challenging one for Woods. He made a historic 24th consecutive cut at the Masters in April, but his rounds of 82 and 77 over the weekend at Augusta showed signs of struggle. Since then, he’s endured early exits from the US PGA Championship and the US Open.
The 48-year-old has openly admitted to feeling caught in a tough predicament: balancing the need for practice to regain sharpness while avoiding overexertion that could lead to another injury.
“It’s like choosing your poison,” Woods said. “Do I play more with the risk of not playing at all, or play less and face not being as sharp?”
While Woods struggled, 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry was in fine form. He took the outright lead after a birdie on the first hole, followed by another easy birdie on the par-five fourth.
Germany’s Marcel Siem also made an early charge, firing five birdies in his first eight holes. However, his momentum faltered with a bogey on the ninth and four more on the back nine, forcing him to settle for a 71. Despite the stumbles, Siem’s score left him comfortably within the projected cut at two over par.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, world number two, faced a daunting task as he teed off at 3:10pm, hoping to recover from an opening round of 78 and keep his hopes alive of ending a 10-year major drought.
Two-time Open winner Ernie Els withdrew from the tournament citing a back injury before his scheduled early tee time. The 54-year-old South African had shot an 82 in the first round, marking a disappointing end to his campaign.
