Tiger Woods missed the cut for the first time in the Farmers Insurance Open, a tournament he has won seven times, and he took playing partners Jason Day of Australia and Dustin Johnson with him.
Justin Rose of England, the Olympic gold medalist, sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to cap a 1-under-par 71 on the South Course at Torrey Pines and took a one-stroke lead over defending champion Brandt Snedeker and Adam of Hadwin of Canada.
Rose, who opened with a 7-under-par 65 on the North Course, had a 36-hole total of 8-under 136.
“It was nice to make that birdie on 18 because it’s easy to spin the ball back into the water there,” said Rose, who has won seven times on the PGA Tour including the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing.
“I was going along well and hit the first 10 greens in regulation, but it got tougher on the back nine. When we turned into the wind on 14-15-16, it got colder and the greens got bumpy. I kept hitting good putts, but had some lip out and was just happy to make pars.
“But it was a good finish.”
However, the big story was Woods, top-ranked Day and third-ranked Johnson missing the cut in the featured threesome on the South Course.
Woods, who opened with a 74 on the North, shot 72 in round two but missed the weekend by four strokes, while Day had a 74 to miss by three and Johnson’s 74 left him two short.
“I played better than I did yesterday and it’s frustrating to miss the cut,” said Woods, who will play next week in the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour. “I made some changes in my alignment and swing that paid off, and I hit the ball much better.
“I putted pretty well and had a lot of good putts miss. I just didn’t make enough birdies. … It’s a process. It’s a lot different than riding in a cart and playing with my buddies back home. I’m just trying to get ready for the first week in April (for the Masters).”
Snedeker, playing alongside Rose on the South Course, was tied for the lead on the back nine before finishing with four pars in a 69, while Hadwin, who was second last week in the CareerBuilder Challenge, birdied two of the last three holes on the North Course to finish at 71.
Keegan Bradley overcame a double-bogey 6 on the fourth hole of the South Course with an otherwise spotless scorecard and made three birdies on his last five holes in a 69 that put him two shots back in a tie for fourth with Ollie Schneiderjans, who posted a 69 on the North, also making three birdies on his last five holes.
Zac Blair recorded a 69 on the South Course and was another stroke behind in a tie for sixth with Cheng Tseng Pan of Taiwan (69, North), Kevin Streelman (70, South), Brian Harman (71, North) and Robert Streb (71, South).
Local favorite Phil Mickelson, who has won the tournament three times but not since 2001, sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of the South Course to finish off a 72 and was seven back in a tie for 48th.
