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Woods plays his worst 72 holes on PGA Tour

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-09 11:10

Pavin might be doing him a disservice to put him on the Ryder Cup team and expose him at an event where players have to be sharp in their thinking and the shots they play.

Woods began the week by saying he intended to qualify for the Ryder Cup team. Asked if he even wanted to play, Woods replied with a stoic look, "Not playing like this, definitely not.

"I wouldn't help the team if I'm playing like this," he said. "No one would help the team if they're shooting 18-over par."

Would he pick himself if he were captain?

Woods isn't ruling himself out, saying there is a lot of time between now and the Ryder Cup on October 1-3 in Wales, starting Thursday with the PGA Championship. Does it end there, too? Because if Woods plays at Whistling Straits the way he did at Firestone, he won't be around for the weekend and might not be eligible for a PGA Tour event _ unless he plays Greensboro _ until the Ryder Cup.

His mood has not been that dour despite the low scores. He worked hard on his swing on the practice range Sunday morning, constantly rehearsing and exaggerating some moves to get the club where he wanted it. And he smiled and chatted with Kim throughout the round.

Toward the end, however, Woods looked resigned. There was only so much he could take.

The double bogey at 14. Then came a tee shot on the par-3 15th so far right that it hit a spectator. The loudest cheer Woods got all day was signing his glove and giving it to the man, and then he tossed him the ball after making bogey.

On the 16th, Woods didn't finish his swing as the ball sailed into the trees. He hit a tree on his next shot, which went 20 yards. From 261 yards out, he tried to slice a 3-wood out of the forest, back toward the green and over the water. It was vintage Woods, the gallery stunned by the flight of the ball, cheering in anticipation as it neared the green.