Irish Golf Desk

View Original

Woods rules out cart on tour; Mehaffey bounces back at Q-School

Shane Lowry watches Tiger Woods hit a tee shot at Augusta National

Tiger Woods returns to the fairways in a cart today, but he's ruled out asking for permission to use four wheels if he ever returns to the tour.

"I wouldn't, no, absolutely not," said Woods, who will play for the first time since shattering his right leg in a car crash 10 months ago when he partners his son Charlie (12) in the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.

"Not for a PGA TOUR event, no. That's just not who I am. That's not how I've always been, and if I can't play at that level, I can't play at that level. But this is a different event. This is a fun event."

Fans who hope Woods could miraculously climb the hills of Augusta National in April's Masters Tournament can forget that dream.

"I couldn't walk this golf course even right now, and it's flat," he said. "I don't have the endurance. I told you in the Bahamas, I'm a long way, way from playing tournament golf."

Pádraig and Paddy Harrington tee it up with Tom Watson and his son Michael, but Woods expects his son Charlie to hit more tee shots than him this weekend as he battles to generate enough speed to compete again.

"The body is not what it used to be," he said. "Obviously, it's been a little banged up this year, and slowly but surely, I'll get to where the speed will start coming back up, and I can start hitting the shots that just aren't quite coming off."

At the Ladies European Tour Q-School, Olivia Mehaffey showed mental strength to recover from a mid-round wobble to remain in the hunt for her card on the wind-lashed North Course at La Manga in Spain.

Scores

Despite dropping four shots in a three-hole spell around the turn, the Co Down star (24) made six birdies in a one-under 70 in the second round of the five-round marathon to remain tied third on three-under.

"I got off to a hot start and was three-under, dropped a few shots on the turn, then got some birdies to finish, so it was very up and down," said Mehaffey, who is just three shots behind England's Meghan MacLaren on three-under.

"The dropped shots came from nowhere, and it was pretty bad, so it was nice to make a few birdies coming in because it was so windy on the back side as well.

"I'm pleased with how I handled that. I have been working a lot on my mental game for the last six weeks at home."

The top 65 and ties will make the 72-hole cut, but Clandeboye's Victoria Craig is three shots outside the mark, tied 87th on 10-over after a seven-over 78 on the North Course.

Two-time LET winner MacLaren (27) fired a three-under 68 on the North to lead by a shot from France's Manon Gidali on six-under.