Tiger makes cut after battling back issues in Round 2: 'Aging is not fun'

Tiger Woods did not have it on Friday at Muirfield Village, turning in a laborious 4-over 76 and to squeak inside the cutline at the Memorial Tournament.

The round was difficult for the 44-year-old. Woods appeared to be walking gingerly, and he even let out an audible "ow" after his last drive of the day. Additionally, a few of his wayward drives ended with a one-handed finish.

"I wasn't quite moving as well as I'd like and couldn't quite turn back and couldn't quite clear," Woods said afterward. It was a bit of a struggle. ... It started this morning. ... It wasn't quite as good as I'd like, and it is what it is."

The 15-time major winner added that his bad back bothers him "more times than not" during warmup.

"Aging is not fun. Early on in my career, I thought it was fantastic because I was getting better and better and better, and now I'm just trying to hold on," he added.

Woods' play began to unravel after two birdies in his first three holes. Errant drives, many of them missing way right, and a couple of three-putts led to a 6-over run in an eight-hole stretch.

"Whatever kind of momentum I was going to create, I stifled that early and fought it the rest of the day," said Woods.

Tiger also bogeyed on hole No. 6, his 15th hole, but managed to rattle off back-to-back birdies to get back to 3-over for the week. He then drained a 15-footer to salvage par on his final hole.

The five-time Memorial champion ended his day outside the cutline, but his standing improved as others struggled in tough afternoon conditions. Woods has never missed the cut at the Memorial.