Tiger Misses Cut, Will Have Plenty of Time to Work on His Game

Five club pros posted better scores. His caddie, childhood friend Bryon Bell, spent more time raking bunkers than lining up putts. He finished out of the top 100 for only the third time in his career.

No, not a good PGA Championship for Tiger Woods.

The indignities multiplied Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club, an unforgiving layout strewn with hazards. Woods found most of them for the second consecutive day, shooting 73 in the wake of Thursday's unsightly, opening-round 77.

He finished at 10-over for the tournament, missing the cut for only the third time in 56 major-championship starts as a pro. His previous empty weekends: the 2006 U.S. Open and '09 British Open.

Where does Tiger go from here?

He will not qualify for the upcoming PGA Tour playoffs, so his next tour event might not come until late January in San Diego. He plans to play in the Australian Open in November.

"I'll have nothing to do but work on my game," Woods said. "That's going to be good. Sean (Foley) and I haven't had the opportunity to really sit down and do a lot of work, so this will be our time."

Fantasy Golf: Buy, Sell, or Hold for the PGA Championship

The final major of 2011 will be getting underway this week and that means it is also an important week for fantasy golf players.

Hopefully you have some starts left for some of the players you think will fare well on the tough track at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

The weather will be hot and sticky and that may be an advantage to many of the golfers that have been playing events in th U.S. where it has been extremely hot all summer.

David Toms won here the last time the PGA Championship was at the Atlanta Athletic Club.  He was accurate and didn't make mistakes down the stretch as he took the title.

Here's a quick buy, sell, or hold.

Buy:

Dustin Johnson (A) - He he poised to win a major?

Nick Watney (A) - He's lurking in the rough, and if he starts well, he's a good closer.

Steve Stricker (B) - A must play.  He'll be around on the weekend.

Charl Schwartzel (B) - Didn't have a good Bridgestone, but he's The Masters champ.

Y.E. Yang (B) - I think this could be a good course for Yang.

Rory McIlroy (C) - You have to take him as a C pick.

Gary Woodland (C) - He should have a good week.

Zach Johnson (C) - Plays well in Georgia, but is that enough for him this week?

Sell:

Jonathan Byrd (A)

Angel Cabrera (B) - Hasn't made a cut since early June.

Anthony Kim (C) - He's good one week, bad the next.  Which Anthony Kim will show up in Atlanta?

Hold:

David Toms (B) - Can the 2001 champ do it again at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Tiger Returns to Golf Next Week

Tiger Woods will return to golf at next week’s World Golf Championships event, more than two months after withdrawing from the Players championship with knee and ankle injuries.

Woods, who originally was injured during the Masters in April, missed the U.S. Open in June and British Open in July, stalling his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles.

Woods announced his plans to play in the U.S. PGA Tour event at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in a statement today on his website. The tournament starts Aug. 4.

“I’m excited to get back out there,” Woods said in the statement.

The Bridgestone Invitational is the last U.S. event before the PGA Championship, golf’s final major of the season.

Woods will play in the tournament without longtime caddie Steve Williams, who was fired by the golfer on July 20 after 13 years together.

Longtime friend, Bryon Bell will be his caddie.

Woods, 35, hasn’t played in a tournament since May 12, when he pulled out of the Players championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, after nine holes.