It’s hard to imagine Tiger Woods not being a plus for the Americans’ Presidents Cup team even as his game struggles through inconsistency.
 
But not only has he not been an addition for the team, he’s been almost a liability through the first two days having gone 0-2 and won just one of 30 holes. The only saving grace is the American team still leads 7-5 going into the weekend.
 
“Not many times where he doesn’t win a point through a couple of rounds,” said American captain Fred Couples, whose decision this fall to add Woods to the team despite his struggles during the PGA season was met with criticism. “But you know what? We’re up by two points, and that’s really all I care about at the moment. And I would say Tiger does the same.”
 
But the strange thing is Woods hasn’t looked bad on the unforgiving Royal Melbourne course, he just hasn’t been spectacular, as birdies have been hard to come by. That was the case during the opening round when Woods was teamed with Steve Stricker. As a duo, they tied a Presidents Cup record for futility.
 
Woods and Dustin Johnson were only slightly better Friday. Woods is the only American who hasn’t scored a point in the tournament.
 
Woods is 0-2 for the first time in Presidents Cup appearances and not since 2004 when he teamed with Phil Mickelson at the Ryder Cup has he lost the first two games in any team match.
 
But Friday’s lackluster showing could be blamed on the challenging weather conditions that seemed to hinder the entire field. High winds, sand and fast greens made it a rough day for all the participants.
 
“Just trying to hit the greens, that was a heck of an accomplishment,” Woods said. “Wedges weren’t holding, balls were oscillating on the greens, you’ve got to play the wind on putts. It was a tough day.”
 
 
Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris.

(Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)