Tiger roars back in second round to within four strokes of lead

A year ago, Tiger Woods wasn't sure he would ever play golf again.

He underwent his fourth back surgery, a spinal fusion procedure to relieve painful sciatica at the Texas Back Institute. This time, the surgery worked better, as Woods is having his best season since 2013, when he earned $8.6 million.

So far this year, he has made $1.5 million, finishing as high as second at the Valspar Championship last March. And the crowds are back, as thousands of fans followed Woods as he played in his signature PGA Tour event in Potomac, the Quicken Loans National, for the first time since 2015.

Woods started slow, finishing seven strokes behind the leaders on Thursday. But he roared back on Friday with a 5-under 65 round to come within four strokes of leaders Ryan Armour, Brian Gay and Beau Hossler. The third round is Saturday at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm and the final round Sunday.

"It’s basically a gift to be able to play again," said Woods, 42. "[A year ago] my back was not fused, and so there was no guarantee I would ever play golf, forget the PGA Tour. So to go from that to here -- I didn't foresee that happening. I really didn't. To be able to build a golf swing around something that's never been done before -- no one's had club head speeds as what I've had on the tour this year with a lower back fusion. These are things that I didn't know I could do, and...I'm having just a great time doing it."

In making seven birdies and only two bogies Friday, Woods matched his lowest score for a round this season. "I basically had one bad hole with a nice little three-putt at 17," he said. "And I made a few putts, which was nice. Overall, I just thought that something in the mid- to high-60s would have been a good score, and I was able to shoot that."

Woods made four putts of 15 feet or longer Friday, the most he has made of that length in a round since 2014. Woods, who last won a tournament in 2013, has experimented with a mallet putter this week. He usually uses a blade putter.

“Most of the guys out here are using mallets now. It's very interesting,” Woods said. “They're using more technology in their putters…So I'm trying a little bit more of that now. It has grooves in it. It is rolling a little bit faster. I've gone to a little bit more swing to it, and so I have a little bit more feel so I don't get away from my basic feel of my fingers and how I putt.”

TPC Potomac is one of the hardest courses in the nation, said Billy Hurley III, a Leesburg, Va., native who won the 2016 event but finished two strokes from the cut this time. Kyle Stanley last year won with only a seven under par, compared to Hurley taking the victory the year before at 17 under when it was at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. In 2015, Troy Merritt won with 18 under par at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. Stanley was at 2-under and Merritt 4-under after the second round.

The highest-ranking golfer in the 120-player field is California native Rickie Fowler, who is eighth worldwide with $3.2 million earned in 2018. At 16th in the FedExCup standings, Fowler is also the highest ranked participant in those rankings, which take the top 125 golfers for a playoff system in August and September. He was at 4-under Friday.

Other participants of note include 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel and Italian Francesco Molinari, a runner-up in last year’s PGA Championship. They were both within a stroke of the lead at 8-under Friday.

Takoma Park native and Georgetown Prep alumnus Denny McCarthy missed the cut with a 4-over score. “TPC Potomac is a really great test of golf,” he said.

The Quicken Loans National is at TPC Potomac for the second consecutive year, after mostly being at Congressional since its 2007 beginning. General admission tickets for the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday cost $39. Youth under 15 are free with a paying adult.

There will be more than golf-watching offered with the Quicken Loans Shot for Heroes, a 90-yard shot challenge free to all fans. Participants have a chance to win up to $15,000 for a hole-in-one and less valuable prizes for getting within 16 feet of the hole. Operation Homefront and TGR Foundation are the benefiting charities. Kids activities that include science and technology will be featured at the TGR Learning Lab Activity Zone.

Woods, who grew up in a military family, focuses a lot of attention on armed forces in this tournament. The event was the first to put out a tribute wall to service members that attendees can sign, Woods said. “Now it's one of the standards throughout the tour,” he said, adding that the tournament also provides free admission to military servicemen and women and their dependents.

With temperatures expected to rise to close to 100 on Saturday and Sunday, the heat will be tough on golfers and fans alike. "It's going to be hot. It's going to be long grinds," Woods said. "It will be hotter than [Friday], which is scary... It will be a long weekend mentally and physically."

Last dance?

Detroit-based Quicken Loans did not renew its title sponsorship of this event and plans to sponsor a PGA tournament next season in the Motor City. That leaves some believing it could be the last one for the National event that began at Congressional in 2007.

"This is a tough climate right now and to ask a company for $7, $8, $9 million, it's tough," Wood said. "This event's always been supported by our servicemen and women, by the local charities. It's just trying to get a big title in here, that's the hard part."

While the Senior PGA Championship was held last year in Loudoun County, Va., getting another regular PGA event might prove difficult if this one ends.

"We're certainly going to give our best efforts, but the future's unknown," Woods said. "That's frustrating for all of us, not just here at the foundation, what we do, but it's also frustrating for the community here and the people who have supported us and supported this event."

Parking at Rock Springs lot

General admission parking for the tournament will be at the Rock Springs parking lot at 6720 Rockledge Drive in Bethesda. The cost is $20, cash only, per day and can be purchased at the lot. Shuttles will take attendees to the main entrance.

When getting a ride from family or friends or taking Uber, taxi and limos, users must use the rideshare lot to drop off and pick up at 10051 Oaklyn Drive.

No large bags

All guests will be subject to inspection prior to entering the tournament. Generally, bags larger than 6” x 6” x 6” are not allowed, though larger clear bags are. Among the prohibited items are laptops, weapons, oversized chairs and cameras. Collapsible chairs are allowed.

Saturday tee times

Gates open at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

7:55 a.m.: Jimmy Walker, Anirban Lahiri

8:04 a.m.: Kevin Tway, Nick Watney

8:13 a.m.: Xinjun Zhang, Brandon Harkins

8:22 a.m.: Bill Haas, Doug Ghim

8:31 a.m.: Lanto Griffin, Adam Hadwin

8:40 a.m.: Kevin Na, Chris Stroud

8:49 a.m.: Dominic Bozzelli, David Hearn

8:58 a.m.: Scott Brown, Stephan Jaeger

9:07 a.m.: Blayne Barber, Martin Flores

9:16 a.m.: Doc Redmon, Patrick Rodgers

9:25 a.m.: Robert Garrigus, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

9:34 a.m.: Corey Conners, David Lingmerth

9:43 a.m.: Alex Cejka, J.T. Poston

9:52 a.m.: Ryan Blaum, Tom Lovelady

10:01 a.m.: Byeong Hun An, James Hahn

10:10 a.m.: Kyle Stanley, Bronson Burgoon

10:19 a.m.: Tyler Duncan, Ben Crane

10:37 a.m.: Harold Varner III, Ted Potter, Jr.

10:46 a.m.: Dylan Meyer, Jamie Lovemark

10:55 a.m.: Charles Howell III, Stewart Cink

11:05 a.m.: Derek Fathauer, Cameron Percy

11:15 a.m.: Jonas Blixt, Fabian Gomez

11:25 a.m.: Robero Diaz, Ryan Palmer

11:35 a.m.: Ollie Schniederjans, Adam Schenk

11:45 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sung Kang

11:55 a.m.: Seamus Power, Troy Merritt

12:05 p.m.: Sam Ryder, Rickie Fowler

12:15 p.m.: Andrew Landry, Abraham Ancer

12:25 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Joel Dahmen

12:35 p.m.: Joaquin Niemann, Chesson Hadley

12:45 p.m.: Andrew Putnam, Johnson Wagner

12:55 p.m.: John Huh, Marc Leishman

1:05 p.m.: Billy Horschel, Zac Blair

1:25 p.m.: Brian Gay, Francesco Molinari

1:35 p.m.: Beau Hossler, Ryan Armour