COLUMBUS, Ohio _ After a shaky round and hours of waiting, Tiger Woods squeezed into the weekend at the Memorial Tournament, avoiding his first missed cut in Jack Nicklaus' tournament.
Woods, a five-time champion at Muirfield Village Golf Club, shot a 76 to finish at 3 over par after Friday's second round as part of the morning group. The projected cut line wobbled between 2 over and 3 over before settling at 3 over.
Woods' chances looked dead when he fell to 5 over after 15 holes. But a beautiful sand shot on No. 7 _ Woods started on the back nine _ set up his 2-foot birdie, and he made a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 8.
His rally stalled on the final hole. Woods drove into the rough and had to pitch out with his second shot. But he made a 7-foot par putt to keep his chances alive.
Woods, who shot a 1-under 71 Thursday, got to 2 under with a birdie on No. 12 after hitting his tee shot 3 feet from the pin.
His game quickly went south after that. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the next hole to give back a stroke.
On the par-5 No. 15, ranked as the second easiest on the course, Woods bogeyed after his first three shots landed in the rough, forcing him to attempt a 26-foot putt for par.
Woods had similar issues on the 17th hole. After hitting his tee shot in the sand, his next two shots ended in the rough and he made an 8-foot putt to salvage another bogey.
It got worse on the front nine. On the par-4 No. 1 hole, Woods was already in trouble when he skulled his third shot from one bunker to another and took a double bogey after missing a 19-foot putt.
He also bogeyed Nos. 2 and 6, and his hopes of playing on the weekend looked almost dead. The birdies on the next two holes gave him some hope.
The 76 was tied for his third-worst round in 18 years of competition at the Memorial. He had a 76 in the third round in 2003.
Woods shot an 85 in the third round in 2015 and a 79 in the third round in 2013 during the time when his back issues became more pronounced.
He appeared to wince several times during his round Friday.
