Woods, Mickelson struggle, miss cut in Greenbrier Classic

In the weeks leading up to the Greenbrier Classic, much of the attention surrounding the event focused around Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Having Woods and Mickelson – who entered the tournament ranked No. 1 and No. 8, respectively – in the FedEx Cup rankings, participating was expected to bring in an added level of excitement to a tournament still in its infancy, as this is just its third year.

But neither Woods or Mickelson made the cut.

"I didn’t quite have it," Woods said. "I drove it really good today, and I just didn’t have the feel for the distances. I know we’re at altitude, but I just couldn’t get the ball hit pin high no matter what I did, and subsequently, I made some bogeys."

Woods finished his first two rounds at even par, just one stroke short of advancing to the final two days.

He entered the Greenbrier Classic coming off of a win at the AT&T National last week and admitted he thought he would be able to ride some of that momentum into this week’s tournament. But the hot conditions, as well as the altitude threw off his rhythm.

"This week I was hitting the ball so far. My sand wedge is going 142, 145 (yards). These are numbers that I don’t normally hit," he said. "It happens. You miss cuts out here."

It was just the ninth time in his career that he missed a cut, the third time he missed a cut after winning a tournament and the first time since 2005 that he missed two cuts in one year.

Mickelson finished two over par during the first two days, missing his second straight cut at the Greenbrier Classic. It was the first tournament he played since the U.S. Open in June.

The well-known lefty has struggled in his last three tournaments, finishing 25 over par in his last three appearances this season.

He hasn’t shot under par for a tournament since May 17-20 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

"I really enjoy the golf course (at The Greenbrier). I think it’s just a wonderful test, and I haven’t played very well on it last year and this year. I don’t get it," Mickelson said.

"It hasn’t been great (the last few tournaments). The parts don’t feel that far off, but I just haven’t been putting them together."

After not making the cut in 2011, Mickelson felt this year he’d be able to stick around for the entire tournament this season.

"This is certainly a fun place and a place that we all enjoy. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out the golf course yet, but I’m going to keep working on it," he said.

This year’s Greenbrier Classic is the first time both Woods and Mickelson have missed the cut in the same tournament since they became professionals.

With those two – who were reportedly given $2.5 million to appear in the tournament – not in action for the final two days, it gave fans a chance to see players who are more unknown like Troy Kelly and Charlie Beljan step into the spotlight.

"Obviously, I haven’t been in this position a whole lot," Kelly said. "It’s hard to believe those guys missed the cut, they never do.

"I like the golf course. It’s fun, it’s set up well. I don’t know what those guys’ deal is. It’s just hard to believe (that they missed the cut)."

But even though the tournament didn’t go the way they thought it would, the Greenbrier Classic definitely left an impression on a few of the world’s best golfer.

"I had a great time," Woods said. "The people have been just fantastic, very excited to have a tournament here, and you can see how excited they were. It’s a fun crowd to play in front of.

"Unfortunately it was only for a couple of days."