But he made a beautiful recovery, hitting a 2-iron to 10 feet from the hole.
"Get there!" Woods yelled as the ball took off, and a few seconds later, whoops of appreciation told him it had.
He had to settle for par when his birdie putt slid 11 inches past the hole, but it was good enough to run his cut streak to 126.
"It's pride and playing. And always giving your best all the time," Woods said. "There are many times where I probably should have missed, but I made it just through determination -- or luck. Sometimes the cuts actually come back toward me.
"It's just one of those things where you've got to always play hard."
EUROPEAN OPEN
Retief Goosen, fighting fatigue after his win at the US Open, shot a 6-under-par 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead in the second round of the European Open.
Dealing with a heavy downpour late in his round and blustery winds, the South African had six birdies and no bogeys. He leads Dutchman Maarten Lafeber, while Lee Westwood is three strokes back.
Lafeber shot 70, while Westwood had his second straight 69.
Seven-time Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie missed the cut, shooting a 10-over 82 as the winds intensified later Friday. He carded 45 on the front nine.
Some predicted level par would be enough to win at the 6,687m South course at the K Club, but Goosen was already a combined 9-under.
"That's unbelievable golf," said Lafeber, who had a 70.
Goosen won at Shinnecock Hills, New York, 12 days ago and only unpacked his clubs Tuesday. He didn't expect to challenge because he was tired.
"In a way, I'm a little surprised at the way I'm playing," Goosen said. "The wind was a bit stronger than [Thursday], and it was a little colder, too. But they have moved a couple of tees up, and the greens are perfect so you can make up for any mistakes on the greens."
Not that he made many mistakes.
Starting at the 503m 10th, he hit a sand wedge third shot to 3m and holed for birdie. That was followed by three straight birdies from the 13th.
At the 551m third, Goosen finished short and in the rough in two, but chipped to 3m and holed for another birdie.
A 3.6m putt at the sixth brought him to 6-under.
Told that another player, Paul McGinley, called him the world's best current player, Goosen referred to Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.
"I think Vijay and Ernie have been playing well for a long time," he said. "I'd have to play as well as this for a few more months to make that true."
He said he wasn't thinking about becoming No. 1.
"We all want to be, but I have a long way to go to catch Tiger Woods in the points system," Goosen said.
Lafeber said he played nearly as well as Thursday, when he shot 67 and was tied for the lead with Nick O'Hern and Paul Broadhurst.
"But it was a fraction more difficult," he said.
"I didn't make any mistakes for the first 12 holes, and I hit 17 greens in regulation.
Westwood can clinch a position on Europe's Ryder Cup team with a high finish.
"I played very solidly from the first tee shot to the last putt," said Westwood. "I stayed calm all day and didn't get upset by the conditions.
"It's certainly the best I've played all year."
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