Top-ranked Tiger Woods shoots a 79, misses cut by 8 shots | Golf

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Finally, all the talk about top-ranked Tiger Woods was mostly about his golf.

And it was more bad news.

In a meltdown Friday at the Quail Hollow Championship, the 34-year-old Woods missed the cut for the sixth time in his career with a performance that was incomparable for all the wrong reasons.

He shot a 7-over-par 79, his worst score on American soil as a pro and the second highest of his career. He matched his highest score on nine holes with a 43 on the back nine — and that was with three pars on the tough closing stretch. His 36-hole score of 153 was the highest in his 14 years on the PGA Tour.

Rust? Mechanics? Distractions from a personal life in turmoil?

"It is what it is," Woods said. "Whatever it was, it wasn't good enough."

Woods missed the cut by eight shots — and he was 17 shots behind 36-hole leader Billy Mayfair — and headed back to Florida as speculation mounts that being caught in rampant extramarital affairs has tarnished more than his image.

Making the performance more surprising is that Woods tied for fourth at the Masters less than three weeks ago, a remarkable result considering it was his first competition since a five-month hiatus created by his crisis at home.

Woods didn't make excuses about whether his private life is affecting his game.

"Every day I do media, I get asked it, so it doesn't go away," he said. "Even when I'm at home paparazzi still follow us, helicopters still hover around."

Woods hit two fairways, none after the fourth hole, and took four putts on No. 15.

Mayfair (68) was at 8-under 136, one shot ahead of Angel Cabrera (67).

Players with scores worse than 145 missed the cut, a group that included Ryan Moore (73-73 — 146) of Puyallup, ex-Washington Husky Alex Prugh (72-75 — 147) of Spokane and Seattle native Fred Couples (76-71 — 147).

Other tournaments

• Michelle Wie shot a 5-under 68 to take the second-round lead in the Tres Marias Championship, an LPGA Tour event in Morelia, Mexico.

Wie was at 12-under 134, one stroke ahead of Brittany Lincicome (67) and Ai Miyazato (72). Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa (73), who is retiring after the tournament in her home country, was tied for sixth at 7 under.

Paige Mackenzie (70), a former Washington Huskies player from Yakima, was tied for 16th place at 5 under. Jimin Kang (72), a graduate of King's High School in Shoreline, was tied for 19th at 4 under.

• Bob Tway and Leonard Thompson shot 5-under 67s to share the first-round lead in the inaugural Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on the 50-and-older Champions Tour in Saucier.

• Michael Putnam of University Place shot a 2-under 69 and was one shot off the lead in the Nationwide Tour's Stadion Athens Classic in Georgia. Daniel Summerhays (68), Bobby Gates (69) and Mark Anderson (69) were tied for the lead at 7-under 135.

Players with scores above 143 missed the cut, including Kyle Stanley (75-70 — 145) of Gig Harbor, Kentwood High graduate Jess Daley (72-73 — 145) and Jeff Gove (73-72 — 145) of Seattle.