Golf roundup: Woods, McIlroy miss cut at Abu Dhabi
BY Associated Press
Saturday, January 19, 2013
1/19/13 at 5:38 AM
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday in the United Arab Emirates, a woeful start to the season for the world's top two golfers.
Woods missed it after he was penalized two shots for wrongly taking a free drop, while top-ranked McIlroy was frustrated trying to adjust to his new Nike clubs, even though he used his old Titleist putter in the second round. Both finished with 3-over 75s.
"When you don't hit fairways on this golf course, you can't score," McIlroy said.
Justin Rose played solid, mistake-free golf. Away from the large galleries, the Englishman shot a 69 for a 136 total and a one-shot lead at the halfway point over Jamie Donaldson (70) of Wales, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (67) of Spain and Thorbjorn Olesen (69) of Denmark.
Woods and McIlroy were expected to contend for the lead but often looked like weekend golfers. Their struggles captivated the crowds.
"I didn't hit it particularly well. I putted great but just didn't hit it very good. I was struggling with that," Woods said. "I have some work to do, and next week I'm playing at Torrey (in San Diego), and obviously it will be different weather there, so going to go back and get ready."
Woods thought he was safe in finishing his second round at 73. But he was advised by the European Tour chief referee Andy McFee of the penalty, giving him a 75 and 3-over total of 147. The cut for the top 60 plus ties was 2 over.
McFee said he warned Woods on the 11th tee of the penalty, which was a result of his taking a free drop when his ball was embedded in sand. It's not allowed.
"I called Martin (Kaymer) over to verify the ball was embedded. We both agreed it was embedded and evidently it was in sand," Woods said of the infraction that happened when his drive on 5 landed in a bed of vines. "Andy ruled I broke an infraction, consequently got a two-shot penalty. Andy feels the way he feels about it and I broke the rules."
Kaymer said he thought the ball was embedded and was surprised by the ruling.
"I didn't know about it and he obviously didn't know about it, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. It's an unfortunate thing," Kaymer said. "Obviously he was fighting back a lot, and he was 3 or 4 over par, and trying to make the cut. He was playing very well coming in. He was making nice putts in the end."
Hahn, Castro lead Humana Challenge: In La Quinta, Calif., James Hahn and Roberto Castro remained atop the Humana Challenge leaderboard, shooting 5-under 67 in the pro-am tournament.
Hahn and Castro were 14 under after another day of perfect conditions in the Coachella Valley. They began the round tied for the lead with Jason Kokrak at 63.
Hahn had four birdies, an eagle and a bogey at La Quinta Country Club.
Castro had the lead alone at 16 under, but bogeyed two of his last three holes.
Original Print Headline: Woods, McIlroy miss cut
Associated Images:
Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday after shooting a 75. KAMRAN JEBREILI/AP
|
