SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tiger Woods never shot a score this high in his 1,267 official rounds as a pro.

He never looked more lost on a golf course.

Woods hit wedges fat and thin, but never close. He hit one drive into the water, another into the base of a desert bush. And when he missed a 10-foot par putt on his final hole Friday in the Phoenix Open, he had the worst score of his career – an 11-over 82.

Martin Laird had another 5-under 66 to take a two-shot lead in an event that will also be without Phil Mickelson, who shot 76 and missed the cut by two shots.

Woods was in last place when he headed home to Florida to try to fix a game in disarray, even behind Arizona club pro Michael Hopper, who had yet to tee off. It was the first time in his career that he missed the cut in consecutive PGA Tour events, the most recent one in August at the PGA Championship.

About the only thing he didn’t lose was his sense of humor.

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“I’m just doing this so I don’t get fined,” Woods said with a smile as he faced the media, repeating Marshawn Lynch’s line at Super Bowl media day.

Even so, this round might have been more painful than getting his tooth knocked out last week in Italy.

His previous worst score was an 81 in the third round at Muirfield in the 2002 British Open, where he caught the brunt of whipping rain in 40 mph wind. There was only a light drizzle in the Valley of the Sun, and Woods hit a low point in his career.

“We all have days like this,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, mine was in a public forum. We take the good with the bad, and the thing is, even on bad days like this, just keep fighting. On the good days, you’ve got to keep fighting, as well.”

He scrapped plans to go to the Super Bowl and headed home to Florida to practice before returning next week to Torrey Pines.

Jordan Spieth, playing in the group with Woods and Patrick Reed, had a 68.

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“Sure, it’s odd,” Spieth said. “But it’s his second tournament in six months. He’s really revamping his golf swing and just seems like he needs some more repetitions. From the looks of it, he looks very healthy, looks like nothing was bothering him. So he should be able to get out there and get a lot of practice in. I would look for him to make a strong comeback this year.”

Woods played the Phoenix Open for only the fourth time, and the first time since 2001. He still managed to generate plenty of memories. There was the hole-in-one on the 16th hole in 1997, the fans moving a 1,000-pound boulder for him in 1999, a teenager throwing an orange as he was putting in 2001.

And now an 82.

The support remained strong, but the message changed. What began on Thursday as “Welcome back,” turned into, “Thanks for coming.”

EUROPEAN TOUR: Rory McIlroy made an 18-foot birdie putt on his final hole to surge into a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic.

On the Majlis course where he recorded his first victory as a professional in 2009, McIlroy notched a bogey-free round of 8-under-par 64.

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His 14-under-par total after two rounds was one ahead of Scotland’s Marc Warren.

LPGA: Lydia Ko is 18 holes from history.

The 17-year-old New Zealander birdied five consecutive holes and shot a 7-under 65 in the third round of the Coates Golf Championship to take the outright lead in the LPGA Tour’s season opener at Ocala, Florida.

If she hangs on Saturday, she would become the youngest golfer – male or female – to be ranked No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.

Second-round leader Ha Na Jang was a stroke back at 13-under 203.


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