He doesn’t miss the cut often, so when he does, it’s news.
For the first time in three years and the second in a major championship as a pro, Tiger Woods will not compete on the weekend.
The world’s No. 1 player missed the cut Friday at the British Open, shooting a 4-over 74 at Turnberry that had him headed back home to Florida on the same day that 59-year-old Tom Watson tied for the 36-hole lead.
Woods holds the tour record of 142 consecutive cuts made, which he set from 1998 to 2005.
Tiger Woods is having a hell of a time at Turnberry the past couple days.
Woods, who shot a 71 in the opening round of the 2009 British Open on Thursday, is in danger of missing the cut after shooting a 74 in Round 2 on Friday. He is now five-over-par and is toeing the potential cut line to get into Round 3.
Tiger has missed only one cut in a major during his professional career, which came in the 2006 U.S. Open following the death of his father. Considering he opened play as a 9/4 favorite to win, Woods missing the opening cut would be a shocking development.
Outside of Tiger potentially missing the cut, the big story is that 59-year-old Tom Watson once again sits atop the leader board. Watson was one-stroke off of Miguel Jimenez entering play on Friday, but shot a 70 in Round 2 and is now tied with Steve Marino for first place with a score of 135.
The second round is still going on, but Mark Calcavecchia is currently one stroke behind Watson and Marino at 136, while Jimenez, Vijay Singh, Ross Fisher, Retief Goosen and Kenichi Kuboya are all tied at 137.
Update: Woods officially missed the cut at the British Open. It was only the second time he missed the cut at a major in his professional career.
If you were hoping Tiger Woods would bust out of the gates at the British Open, take an early lead and dominant the competition throughout the weekend your wish has not been granted.
Woods shot a 71 in the opening round of the British Open, which began this morning at 8:00 a.m. ET at Turnberry golf course in Scotland. That score is good for one over par and currently ranks him tied for 56th place, although more than half of the golfers have yet to take the course.
Tom Watson, a 59-year-old five-time Open champion, currently holds the lead after shooting a 65. That score gives him a five-under-par and also gives him a one stroke advantage over John Senden, Steve Stricker, Camilo Villegas, Stewart Cink and Mathew Goggin.
Tiger was a 9/4 favorite when play began today. Watson didn’t have odds, so he was part of The Field, which was 5/2 to win. Stricker and Villegas were 40/1, while Cink was 60/1.
Here’s the TV schedule for the rest of the British Open:
Thursday, July 16: 6:30AM – 7:00PM ET on TNT
Friday, July 17: 7:00AM – 7:00PM ET on TNT
Saturday July 18: 7:00AM – 9:00AM ET on TNT
Saturday July 18: TBA on ESPN
Sunday July 19: 6:00AM – 8:00AM ET on TNT
Sunday July 19: TBA on ESPN
SI.com compiled a ranking of the 50 highest-earning American athletes and discovered that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the list.
1. Tiger Woods
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 1
Salary/Winnings: $7,737,626
Endorsements: $92,000,000
Total: $99,737,626Tiger sacrificed millions in appearance fees during his year off to recover from knee surgery, but replaced his lucrative Buick deal — voided by mutual consent — with a new one from AT&T.
2. Phil Mickelson
Pro Golf
Last Year’s Rank: 2
Salary/Winnings: $6,350,356
Endorsements: $46,600,000
Total: $52,950,356Like Tiger, Phil no longer counts on a car-maker in his endorsement portfolio. (Ford chose not to re-sign him.) He still has lucrative deals with Rolex, Callaway, Exxon, Barclay’s and KPMG.
3. LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year’s Rank: 3
Salary/Winnings: $14,410,581
Endorsements: $28,000,000
Total: $42,410,581LeBron has one more season left under his deal before he can opt out. If Cleveland doesn’t show it’s Finals-worthy by next spring, expect the Knicks to come in with a huge offer.
4. Alex Rodriguez
New York Yankees (MLB)
Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
Salary/Winnings: $33,000,000
Endorsements: $6,000,000
Total: $39,000,000We’re in the middle of A-Rod’s peak earning power in his middle-loaded, 10-year megadeal: He’ll make another $33 million in 2010 and then gradually decrease to a “normal” $20 million by ’17.
No. 5 Shaquille O’Neal
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year’s Rank: 6 (tie)
Salary/Winnings: $20,000,000
Endorsements: $15,000,000
Total: $35,000,000The Big Bargaining Chip? Regardless of his trade to Cleveland, Shaq is in the final year of the five-year, $100 million deal he signed while with Miami. It’s the largest expiring deal in the NBA.
No. 10 Peyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
Last Year’s Rank: 9
Salary/Winnings: $14,500,000
Endorsements: $13,000,000
Total: $27,000,000NFL’s top endorser has distributed $500,000 in grants in ’09 through his PayBack Foundation to charities in Indianapolis, near his alma mater (Tennessee) and his hometown, New Orleans.
It’s amazing that the highest paid NFL player (Peyton Manning) barely cracked the top 10. Granted, the NFL only has a 17-game regular season, but you’d think that for what football players put their bodies through every season that they would make more than baseball players, golfers and basketball players.
Although he is pitching well this season despite his overall numbers, seeing Zito’s name on this list at No. 26 makes me shudder. He’s the third best pitcher (maybe fourth depending on how high you value Randy Johnson) on his own club, yet he’s the 26th highest-earning American athlete. Still, it should be noted that Zito donates $400 for every strikeout that he throws to the Strikeouts for Troops charity that he created to help hospitals treat soldiers that are wounded in military operations. In fact, as the article notes, a lot of the guys on this list give thousands of dollars to charities every year and that shouldn’t be overlooked.
After rain delayed the opening round of the 2009 U.S. Open on Thursday, play resumed on Friday and perennial favorite Tiger Woods is off to a brutal start.
Woods shot a 74 in Round 1, which leaves him 4-over-par after his first day. The 74 marks his second worst start ever at the U.S. Open, with his worst coming in 2006 when he shot a 76 in the opening round.
For comparison, when Woods won the U.S. Open in 2000 he shot a 65 in the opening round and when he won again in 2002, he shot a 67 in Round 1. Compared to his 74 this year, he would appear to have his work cut out for him, but don’t forget he shot a 72 in Round 1 last year and won his third-career U.S. Open so he’s not out of it – not by a long shot.
As of this post, Drew Weaver and Graeme McDowell lead all play with 69, but not all golfers have wrapped up play yet in the first round. So considering he’s only five shots back of the leaders with 54 holes to play, Woods has a ton of time to make up ground.
Check out the Official Site of the U.S. Open for updated scores and more on this year’s event.
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