Tiger Woods waited until his final hole at the Wells Fargo championship to record the first birdie of his round and it got him just inside the cut line.

Having struggled with his putter in both rounds at Quail Hollow, Woods found an 18-foot putt on the par-four ninth that completed a two-over-par round of 73. He stretched out both arms in mock celebration after avoiding only the sixth round without a birdie in his career.

“I’m on a hot streak right now,” Woods joked afterwards. “I made the last putt.”

“I feel more comfortable on faster greens,” he added. “I’ve had ample time to make the adjustment, and I just haven’t. I haven’t felt comfortable hitting the putts as hard as we have to hit them this week.”

Peter Malnati is the overnight leader after the second round, some nine shots ahead of Woods, after a three-under round of 68 left him seven-under for the week.

Malnati, a 30-year-old from Tennessee who made headlines last year for supporting NFL players’ right to kneel during the national anthem, leads an eclectic group at the top of the standings.

Aaron Wise, the 2016 NCAA college champion, is tied for second with former world No1 Jason Day, with 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwarzel and England’s Paul Casey a shot further back.



Woods had only seven birdie opportunities inside 20 feet during a testing second round in North Carolina. He three-putted twice for bogey, including the par-three sixth hole when he had a downhill birdie chance from about 18 feet.

His other bogey was on the 11th, when the crowd went from cheering to groaning as his approach spun back past the hole, down a slope and back onto the fairway. His chip landed about eight feet short of the cup and he missed that.



“I’ve hit it good enough to be right up next to that lead,” Woods said. “If I just putt normal, I’m right there. I’m hitting it fine, and I just need to make some putts. Hopefully, this weekend I’ll hit it the way I’ve been hitting it and get a hot putter. You never know.”

“I certainly was frustrated, there’s no doubt about that,” Woods added. “I missed so many putts. But I’ve got to put it behind me and hit the next shot with just as much commitment. I did that all day and, unfortunately, I didn’t make anything until the last hole.”