Notebook | Major winners have tough year

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Top-ranked Tiger Woods can only watch the PGA Championship on television, if he so chooses, as he recovers from season-ending knee surgery after winning the U.S. Open.

That left British Open champion Padraig Harrington and Masters winner Trevor Immelman as the only players in the PGA Championship field with a chance to win multiple majors this year.

After two rounds of the season's final major, it is down to Harrington.

Harrington shot a 74 Friday at Oakland Hills Country Club to make the second-round cut at 5-over-par 145, six strokes behind leader J.B. Holmes.

Immelman wasn't as fortunate, struggling for the second consecutive day, finishing at 13 over and missing the cut by five strokes.

A year ago, Harrington found out how exhausting it is to win the British Open. He hasn't figured out a way to play through it because he is equally as worn out after repeating.

"I've just run out of steam," the Irishman said. "What can I say? I haven't got the focus this week. Obviously, I'm still just having a hangover after winning the Open. I think I need to spend 24 hours in bed."

Immelman can sleep as long as he would like this weekend after missing the cut for the fourth time in nine PGA Tour events since winning at Augusta National in April.

"I played poorly and I'm bitterly disappointed about it," the South African said. "I've been fighting with my swing. I've got the double-miss going, missing left and right."

Cutting it close

Jim Furyk, ranked 13th in the world, made one of the two birdies on the 498-yard, par-4 18th hole, and his was huge. It got him to 8-over 148 — good enough to make the cut on the number.

Ryder Cup update

Two players who were on the bubble burst their chances of being among the eight automatic qualifiers for this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Woody Austin and Hunter Mahan, who started the week ninth and 10th in U.S. Ryder Cup points, each failed to make the cut.

Austin described himself as an idiot and also said, "I'm just very embarrassed, very disappointed in myself that I completely forgot how to play golf."

Notes

• Five of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, not counting Woods, didn't make the cut: No. 4 Vijay Singh (12 over), No. 8 Adam Scott (10 over), No. 9 Stewart Cink (11 over), No. 12 Lee Westwood (15 over) and No. 14 K.J. Choi (11 over).

• Colin Montgomerie (84), playing in his 15th PGA Championship, matched his worst round in a major tournament and later snapped at a reporter who chuckled during a question-and-answer session.

"Make that your last laugh, OK?" Montgomerie said.

• Orville Moody, a U.S. Army veteran who won the 1969 U.S. Open for his only PGA Tour title, died in Texas, Tour officials said. He was 74.

Tour officials did not give a cause of death.

"Sarge was a good player and a terrific guy," golf legend Jack Nicklaus said.