Can Woods avoid back-to-back cuts? Keep track with how he's doing in opening round

PALM BEACH GARDENS – Tiger Woods could make history at this week’s Honda Classic.

Just not the kind he wants.

Since turning professional in late 1996, Woods has missed just 17 cuts in 316 starts on the PGA Tour.

But the Martin County resident has never missed the cut in consecutive weeks. That streak is in jeopardy at PGA National after Woods failed to advance at last weekend's Genesis Open.

Tiger tracker: Keep up with his opening round

Will the streak be broken for Woods, who once went seven years without missing a cut and holds the record for the most consecutive cuts (142)?

History says no, but Woods didn’t sound like someone who has won 14 majors and 79 PGA Tour events after finishing Wednesday’s pro-am.

“I’m just learning how to play tournament golf all over again,” said Woods, who is making just his fourth start on the PGA Tour since 2015 because of four back surgeries. “I made some of my mistakes last week and that’s just unfortunately part of it.”

Woods’ brilliance early in his career is a major reason why young stars such as Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy took up the game. Thomas got to play with Woods for the first time in a PGA Tour event last week, and was blown away by the size of the crowd.

“It was just bizarre because those first two days, there’s so many people and then on Saturday morning, there was nobody,” Thomas said. “Rory and I were walking up to the first tee and we’re like, ‘Where is everybody?’”

The par-70 Champion Course is expected to be a brute this week with dry, windy conditions expected throughout the weekend. Woods hopes he makes it that long.

“I need to continue going down the things I’ve been working on,” Woods said. “I just need to get better at it.”

What Woods has accomplished in his career remains startling. Consider:

* He has won more World Golf Championships (18) as world No. 1 Dustin Johnson has PGA Tour titles (17).

* Tiger has won more majors – and tournaments in California (14) -- than Rory McIlroy’s career PGA Tour wins (13).

* Tiger has won as many tournaments in Ohio (13) as Adam Scott (13) and one more than multiple-major winner Zach Johnson (12).

But that was the old Tiger. Now we have an older Tiger, much older than his 42 years.

The golf ball doesn’t care what you have accomplished when you step to the first tee. A golfer, even one once considered a lock to break Jack Nicklaus’ golden standard of 18, is given no benefit of the doubt.

This isn’t boxing or figure skating, where there is subjectivity. Put the pencil to the scorecard and add them up afterward.

Nobody knows what Tiger will do the next two, or four, days on the Champion course. Not even Tiger.

In his two previous starts at PGA National, he finished second to Rory McIlroy after a final-round 62 in 2012. Two years later, he had to withdraw after 13 holes Sunday with back spasms; at the time he was 5-over for the round and 12 shots out of the lead.

Woods says he will hit the driver only four or five times a round, which seems like a smart strategy considering he’s hit just 30-of-84 fairways (35.7 percent) in his two starts.

But one thing seems clear: Woods is a lot happier on the golf course. His laser focus has softened. Tuesday, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington pointed to a scene at Torrey Pines.

“Tiger would have come on to any range in his heyday and he'd walk on that range, he'd nod respectfully at whoever, and he would go and do his work,” Harrington said. “He'd have his manager standing right behind him deflecting everybody away from getting near him.”

But not that day on the Torrey Pines range.

“He high-fived a few people, had a few chats. Stopped and had a couple of chats with me,” Harrington said. “He was relaxed and enjoying himself. Clearly, he doesn’t have the intensity that he had 10 years ago.”

When asked about Harrington’s comments Wednesday and whether he has mellowed, Woods didn’t take the bait.

“Well, I’m not in pain,” Woods said. “Yeah, I am a lot happier. I’ve been struggling for some time, probably five years now.”

His back is better, but his game has a long way to go.

The guess here is Woods makes the cut at Honda and gets four more rounds in as he prepares for his biggest test – the Masters.

Craig Dolch is a TCPalm.com correspondent with more than 30 years of golf writing experience.

Notable tee times

Tee 1

7:05 a.m.: Matt Every (Jacksonville Beach); Ryan Blaum (Jacksonville Beach)

7:25 a.m.: Ted Potter, Jr. (Silver Springs)

8:35 a.m.: Lanto Griffin (Ponte Vedra Beach)

12:05 p.m.: Billy Horschel (Ponte Vedra Beach, Palm Bay)

12:35 p.m.: Rory McIlroy (N. Ireland); Adam Scott (Australia); Padraig Harrington (Ireland)

12:55 p.m.: Derek Fathauer (Jupiter)

1:25 p.m.: Jhared Hack (Orlando)

Tee 10

6:45 a.m.: Peter Uihlein (Jupiter)

7:05 a.m.: Lucas Glover (Jupiter)

7:15 a.m.: Jim Furyk (Ponte Vedra Beach)

7:35 a.m.: Daniel Berger (Jupiter); Sergio Garcia (Spain)

7:45 a.m.: Tiger Woods (Jupiter)

8:35 a.m.: Nicholas Lindheim (Satellite Beach)

11:35 a.m.: Bud Cauley (Jacksonville Beach)

11:45 a.m.: Richy Werenski (Jupiter)

1:05 p.m.: Sam Saunders (Atlantic Beach)

1:15 p.m.: Andrew Filbert (Naples)

1:25 p.m.: T.J. Vogel (Hollywood)