2018 Tour Championship Second Round Live Blog

I will update with time stamps (eastern standard time)

5:54 – Tiger gives it a run but it slides by. He will finish with a total of -7; tied with Rose. They will tee off last tomorrow.

5:44 – Tiger destroys one down the middle of the fairway on 18. He will have around 220 in. Rickie hits his a little left and gets held up by the rough. Rickie will likely need to lay up. Rose birdies 18 so he finishes at -7. Tiger needs a birdie on 18 to tie Rose. Tiger hits a good shot and will have about a 20 footer uphill for eagle. That would give him the lead alone at -8.

5:36 – About 8 feet for birdie for Tiger. It is downhill but he has had great speed all day. Let’s see if this one drops. He pulls it a smidge and will card a par on #17. Rory ends up taking a par on 18. He has left so many strokes on the course. He is hitting the ball better than anyone but can’t seem to score. Rickie has moved backwards and is now -3. He has had four bogeys on the back 9. A birdie on 18 will go a long way to make him feel better.

5:31 – Tiger has 143 in. He will probably be hitting pitching wedge or 9 iron. He hits it to about 10 feet. A chance for birdie and the outright lead.

5:28 – Tiger hits the middle of the fairway on 17. Rory has 4 iron from 234; playing 243. He rips it but leaves it on the edge of the green in the rough. Not a bad place to leave it. Rory should have a relatively easy birdie from there. Justin Thomas hits 3 iron and just barely carries the front bunker. They should each make birdie.

5:25 – We’ve seen this before. Tiger gets the lead and then takes a double bogey. Once again, this is why he cannot win a major in 2019. Until he gets that out of his system, he is going to lose to the best players in golf. Admittedly, the putt on #15 was amazing.

5:02 – Hole 15 is playing 202 and a lot of water to carry. Tiger is hitting 7 iron. He leaves it a touch right but ends up just fine. On the green.

4:51 – Tiger ends up above the hole with a 15 foot putt for birdie. Not the easiest putt, but a birdie putt nonetheless. Rickie tries to hit lumber out of the rough and gets basically nothing on it. He is going to struggle to par this hole. Tiger rolls it in to go -7. That is a fantastic putt. He is tied with Rose for the lead now.

4:47 – Tiger rips on down the middle on 14 and should have a chance at birdie with an average approach shot. Rose drains a long put to go -7. It was around 20 feet. He is in the lead alone with Woods one back.

4:43 – Tiger hits a 5 footer for par. He will go to 14 at -6. Tied with Rose for the lead.

4:32 – Tiger with driver on 13 tee. He hits a power fade and it is perfect. Middle of the fairway. He leaves his iron shot to the right and it ends up in the bunker. Not a great shot there. It looks like he was a touch ahead of it and pushed it.

4:30 – Tiger might be in the lead by himself here. A four footer but a touch downhill. He needs this one. He drains it and goes to -6. He is now in the lead by himself. Rose joins him at -6.

4:25 – Rahm hits it in the water on 16. Great. Tiger hits a wedge to within four feet on 12. Rickie is in the deep rough. He lands short of the green and will have to get up and down to remain in the lead. Rahm plays from the drop circle at 68 yards. He chunks it a bit and leaves it short. Looks like a double now.

4:17 – Rahm has a very long putt for par while Rickie has a putt for birdie. Rickie takes a tap in par. He will remain at -6.  Tiger has a four foot putt for par to remain at -5.

4:13 – Tiger leaves his tee shot just right of the green on #11. Another difficult chip. Rickie is hitting a 6 iron from 213. He hits a very good one to the middle of the green.

4:05 – Rickie has an even worse situation. He can’t put his left foot on the ground so it is resting on the base of the tree. He is hitting off pinestraw. Making good contact here is not going to be easy. He is a professional though. He hit an inch behind the ball and it goes about 20 yards. It is now in the rough. Rickie takes a bogey which is not terrible. He is still tied for the lead at -6.

4:03 – Tiger has 169 to the hole but the ball is sitting down in the bermuda rough. He has a pine tree ahead which is a major concern with a lie in the rough. Can he get it up quickly enough? Be may have to try to hit a low, rope hook.He hits a little bit of a punch but it rolls all the way through the green. Not a bad shot from that lie.

4:00 Tiger hits one left of the fairway and Rickie is right of the fairway. As Feherty says, “somewhere between those to shots is a fairway.”

3:58 – Tiger misses a short putt for par there and takes a bogey on hole #9. He is now two back of Rickie.

3:50 – Tiger and Rickie come to #9. Tiger hitting 5 iron from 242. He is just a touch short with Rickie being a bit long, but on the green, with a 4 iron. Can you imagine pulling a 5 iron for a 242 yard par 3?

3:46 – A word from our sponsor – Cleggs Raleigh, NC Pest Control

3:45 – Tiger hits an amazing bunker shot. He had to land it on a downhill part of the green and let it roll out. This is a shot amateurs have no chance of hitting.

3:42 – Rickie hits a fantastic high draw into #9 and he will have a birdie putt from about 6 feet. Tiger is in the front bunker.

3:32 – Tough tee shot on 8 with water left. Rickie hits one dead straight. No draw at all there. Whew, that was the worst shot Tiger has hit all week. It was a flair out to the right and it was very late. A quick transition and he pushes it about 30 yards right. It was almost a slice.

3:29 – Rahm lips out a par putt and goes back to -6. Rickie is in the lead alone now. He and Tiger will head to 8 tee box.

3:22 – Terry Gannon just said Arizona State Wildcat, errr, I mean Sun Devil. “What am I talking about?” For those wondering, Terry knows his college sports as he was a point guard on a Jim Valvano NC State basketball team in the 1980s.

3:20 – Tiger misses the fairway to the right. Rickie also missed it right but his was much further right than Tiger. Honestly, Rickie might end up with a better lie.

3:18 – The Teeless Driver. Learn more at the link.

3:17 – The first TV commercial I have seen for the 2019 Ford F150 XLT there. My dad has had several of these. He needs a new one, honestly.

3:15 – Tiger hits a huge flop shot and has about 15 feet for birdie. He misses it just on the low side. It is really unfortunate that the ball stayed where it did in the rough. Fowler and Rahm are both at -7 and one shot ahead of Tiger now.

3:09 – Tiger hits a cut 5 wood into the par 5 and ends up just off the green to the left. It is going to be a really awkward chip from the deep bermuda rough.

3:06 – Can you believe Luke Donald was #1 for 56 weeks? How is that even possible? I seriously doubt Justin Rose will be World #1 for very long.

3:01 – Tiger hitting the driver on the par 5 6th. He hits a little slider about 300 yards. Great drive.

2:58 – Rickie drains a putt on 5 to go to -6. He is now in a three way tie for the lead with Tiger and Rahm.

2:50 – Tiger hits the tee shot on 5 into the left rough. Not going to be an easy shot from there. Jon Rahm is now tied for the lead at -6. Noooooo.

2:47 – Tiger can’t keep the putt on line with speeds like that. No way you can go at that putt with pace, you’ll definitely three putt. Not a terrible par there.

2:41 – I love how Rickie takes two clubs out of the bag and stands with them in the fairway. He goes with 6 iron from 189. He hits it just left of the hole and into the deep bermuda rough. That is going to be a very difficult up and down. Tiger is waiting fo the wind to die down. He has 7 iron. He hits an amazing shot. He will have a little bit of a downhill putt but only from about 8 feet.

2:39 – Justin Thomas lips one out on a birdie attempt. The edges are so sharp at this speed. Bermuda greens that are fast are amazing.

2:34 – Tiger rips one a little left but ends up in the fairway on #4. He is in good shape off the tee.

2:33 – Sorry about being a little late. Had to get some work done and a few other errands. I am here for the duration of Tiger’s round. He is at -6 and leading.