The attendance at Aronimink Golf Club on a spectacular afternoon was estimated at 35,000 or more, and at any time it seemed as if half of them surrounded whatever hole Tiger was playing, regardless of what the leaderboard said.
Finishing at par 70 for the day and 3-over for the tournament through two rounds, Woods poked his ball all over the green for much of the day, as he had the day before, but he was treated empathetically just the same. Two birdies on 3 and 4, the second evoking that famous fist pump, created a short-lived buzz, but then he three-putted the fifth hole, and the rest of the round resembled a scene from "Life of Brian," the masses looking for miracles from the wrong guy.
His game, he said afterward, "is not quite where it needs to be."
"I hit awesome, putt awful," he mused. "Putt great, hit awful.
"It's always something, isn't it?"
Not with him, it isn't. At least it wasn't before his "transgressions" led to a self-imposed hiatus from the game. It's not the recipe of golf's best-ever, or the recipe of its best draw. For Aronimink and AT&T, it was, in fact, a recipe for disaster, threatening to leave the final 2 days of this tournament Tiger-less.
At Congressional, in Bethesda, Md., last year, with Woods tied for the lead heading into the final day, nearly 4,000 additional fans came spur of the moment. He won by a stroke, an electric day.
And if he missed yesterday's cut?
You don't need to be Einstein to figure it out.
Justin Rose is atop the leaderboard, followed closely by Jason Day, Charlie Wi, Charley Hoffman and Jeff Overton. All are swell fellas. Among the eight right behind them are Kris Blanks, Nick Watney and Robert Allenby, just to name a few, all swell as well.
What do you mean you're not coming?
Did I mention Tiger will be playing?
