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CNN Saturday Morning News

Tiger Woods Barely Makes the Cut for the PGA Championship

Aired August 18, 2001 - 08:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Tiger Woods is playing catch up at the PGA Championship Tournament, underway now in Duluth, Georgia, here in Atlanta. He made the latest cut, but barely. CNN's John Giannone checks it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN GIANNONE, CNNSI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the turn, there was trepidation. A bogey at 13 only intensified concerns. Two holes later, Tiger Woods was worried. So much so that he actually asked a network cameraman to chase to the cut.

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: I found out on 15 tee I had to ask, you know, what was it, either one or even, and I was told even. So, I knew that I needed to make a couple of birdies coming in, and no mistakes.

GIANNONE: Woods obliged, as he so often does, with two fortunate home stretch putts totalling nearly 70 feet, Woods finally felt his PGA pulse and extended his four streak of making the cut at tour events to 74.

WOODS: A lot of it's luck, because, you know, when I hit a bad putt there on 15, it slams in the hole. 16, I didn't hit a very good second shot in there, and hit a good putt, but still, in the afternoon greens, it could have gone any which way, but it happened to slam in the hole, and all of the sudden, boom, I'm at even par.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure he was aware that he was in trouble there for awhile. I don't know how concerned he was, but I doubt he wanted the weekend off.

WOODS: Sometimes, you know, I don't finish where I want to, but I'm always proud of the fact that I always gave it everything I had. And when I'm all said and done with my career, I can look back on it and say, you know what, I couldn't have done any better.

GIANNONE: Wood's insists he can still hoist his third straight Wanamaker trophy, despite logic and a log-jam on the leader board. But perhaps his best gift from this weekend might be the lessons learned about humility, his golf game, and about how the other half of the golf world so often lives.

WOODS: To be in contention or leading, or near the lead, you can't be playing as -- the way I'm playing right now. So, it is a little bit tougher, knowing the fact your game is not quite where you want it and you have to hit the shot that it calls for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, you want him in the field and you want to play against him, and it would mean more to beat him, but you know, we're so concerned with what we're trying to do that, you know, I personally, at least, I don't have a whole lot of time to be worrying about what Tiger is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The game he has, there is no reason why he can't still win the golf tournament, because everybody's bunched up, you know, depending on the conditions. And he has the game to get right back in contention.

GIANNONE (on camera): Woods' mad dash to the cut line was reminiscent of the last time he flirted with missing the cut, back in February of '99 at a tournament in San Diego. Woods was quick to remind everyone on Friday that he finished that weekend with a 62 out of 65 and ended up winning the tournament.

At the PGA Championship in Duluth, Georgia, I'm John Giannone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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