Woods May Miss Cut After His 75

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. —  Tiger Woods continued to search for a swing he could trust at the Players Championship, struggling to his fourth consecutive round over par, a 75 that put him in a tie for 108th and in serious jeopardy of missing the cut for the first time in six years.

Playing in the group ahead of the world’s No. 1 player, Adam Scott showed the fans what they thought they might see from Woods. He made six of his birdies from inside six feet and shot a seven-under-par 65 to take a one-shot lead after one round.

Duffy Waldorf survived a wild finish to his round of 66 by making a 15-foot eagle on the 16th, dunking one in the water on the island-green 17th for double bogey, and closing out with a birdie from 10 feet. It was only his fifth sub-70 score on the Stadium Course in 39 rounds.

Kevin Sutherland also had a 66 with a long putter he planned to ditch. He brought it only to keep his clubs stable during his flight from Sacramento, gave it one last chance after his practice round Wednesday and made just about everything inside 12 feet.

Thomas Bjorn was among those at 67, while Ernie Els returned to good form after missing the cut at Bay Hill last week and led a large group at 68.

Scott, 23, is one of the rising young stars in golf at No. 18 in the world. He won his first PGA Tour event last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, the tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.

“You want to become a major champion and No. 1 in the world,” Scott said. “I think Tiger has got that No. 1 spot locked down right now. I’m climbing up there.”

Woods is making the target seem more attainable.

Coming off his worst finish in five years at the Bay Hill Invitational -- a tie for 46th -- Woods had his highest score since he shot 75 in the third round of the U.S. Open.

That figures to raise more questions about his game, especially with the Masters only two weeks away -- and especially with Scott in the lead.

They are good friends and often practice together.

The biggest difference is that Scott still works with swing coach Butch Harmon, while Woods last year severed his ties with Harmon after working with him for more than a dozen years.

Many golfers say that Woods, despite his 40th career victory last month in the Match Play Championship, should go back to Harmon.

Woods says he doesn’t need him.

“I’d just like to not make as many bogeys ... and make some more birdies,” Woods said. “I just need to get myself going. If I get in red numbers [under par], I’ll be all right.”

Woods was lucky his score wasn’t higher. He took only one putt on the final three greens, including a bogey after hitting over the island and into the water on No. 17 -- his best swing of the day.

“That’s what happens when you catch the wrong wind,” he said.

Scott had no such troubles. He was a model of patience and precision, bursting into the lead with a nine-iron into four feet on No. 7, hitting four-iron into three feet on the par-three eighth, and sticking a nine-iron into six feet on No. 9.

His only bogey came from the middle of the fairway on No. 15, when he hit wedge into the bunker, but he closed strong. And most importantly, he found land on No. 17.

Scott and Waldorf played in the morning, when the greens still retained some moisture and held shots. By the end of the day, the greens had a yellow sheen as they became firm, an ominous sign for what awaits Woods.

“I thought it played hard,” said Sutherland, who played in the afternoon. “The greens look like they’re about to die. They’ve got that brownish, shiny thing going. They’re about to turn blue.”

Bjorn and Els also were among the late starters, and both felt good about their position.

“This is a battle,” Bjorn said of the Sawgrass course. “It’s never going to be easy on a course like this. If you let up, all of a sudden you’re making bogeys and doubles and the golf tournament just slips through your hands.”