Tiger Woods fails to build on early birdies in Chicago

Published on Friday 10 September 2010 17:49

Tiger Woods remained an also-ran at the BMW Championship at Cog Hill, Chicago, yesterday - and Rory McIlroy was still one of the back-markers.

Fighting to stay alive in the FedEx Cup play-off series - he probably needs a top-five finish for that - Woods flattered to deceive with two birdies early in his second round.

Two bogeys and then a double bogey followed before the world No 1's closing birdie on the long ninth gave him a one-over-par 72 to go with his opening 73.

At three-over, Woods was just inside the top 50 in the 70-strong field - and 10 strokes adrift of fellow American Matt Kuchar, who had only just teed off again.

McIlroy, meanwhile, improved only two shots on his first-day 76 to find himself down in 66th spot on eight-over. With no halfway cut, the 21-year-old Ulsterman still has time to recover and be among the 30 qualifiers for the Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks. But his Ryder Cup debut comes straight after that and his form is starting to be a worry.

Paul Casey is playing much better - but he, of course, was not given a wild card for Celtic Manor by European captain Colin Montgomerie The world No 9 posted another 69 and joined Ian Poulter in jointthird place on four-under, three behind Kuchar.

Poulter was hoping for better than that when he stood on the 14th tee six-under, but he failed to get up and down from a bunker there and a drive into more sand at the last cost him another shot.

Casey, in contrast, played the same five-hole stretch in two- under. He made his 4 from the greenside trap at the long 15th and holed from 10 feet at the next.

"It's done and dusted," he said of the Ryder Cup omission. "You've got to get over things pretty quickly - I got over it pretty quickly. I've played three of them now, and I was mentioned in Sam (Torrance's) speech when he was picking the team back in it would have been '01, I think, so I've had to deal with a lot of Ryder Cup stuff in the last nine years or so. So I've become used to it."

Asked about fan reaction Casey recalled what a spectator in Boston said last week after he made a long putt for birdie - "If that's the way you putt, I'm glad they didn't pick you!"

Luke Donald, preferred by Montgomerie, was also four- under after three holes of his second round, while Justin Rose was just one further back at the same point.

Poulter commented: "I'm never pleased if I'm shooting over par when I feel like I should be shooting under par. I should have been three or four shots better if I'm honest."

Poulter started the event ranked 44th in the FedExCup and in need of a seventh-place finish or better to advance to the Tour Championship.

A year ago, he put his approach into the water on the 72nd hole at Cog Hill and missed out on a trip to East Lake by less than a point. "I'm just playing another tournament," Poulter said. "Same as a major. I'm not engrossing myself in the whole situation."

Woods' double bogey came at the 509-yard par-4 fifth, where he only just got out of a bunker, while McIlroy failed to build on the promise of three birdies in his first five holes.

At the 15th, his sixth, he ran up a double-bogey 7 after hitting his second into the trees. Then came three bogeys in his next five holes and another double on the 446-yard third, where he had to take a penalty drop in the trees.

Scotland's Martin Laird, who opened with a 73, was among the later starters in the second round.