It's no surprise that Woods struggled, some peers say

As talented a golfer as he is, Tiger Woods is only human and returning from a blow as big as losing his father is going to be difficult, says Jim Furyk. And as Michael Campbell notes, Winged Foot provided him no margin for error.

By T.J. Auclair, Junior Editor

MAMARONECK, N.Y.
-- For the first time since 1996, the weekend of a major championship will be played without Tiger Woods.

Woods' streak of 37 consecutive major cuts made came to an abrupt halt at Winged Foot Golf Club Friday. With matching rounds of 6-over-par 76 both days, Tiger's 12-over mark of 152 missed the cut by three shots.

Believe it or not, some of Woods' peers weren't particularly surprised he struggled.

"Yeah, you think about it, it's his first time back since his father passed away," said defending champ Michael Campbell, who was paired with Woods for the first two rounds. "I mean, come on. He's actually very emotional right now. It's just one of those things that he is human, and it's going to be tough for him to come back."

Prior to this week, Woods hadn't played since his tie for third at the Masters. Of course, as Campbell noted, his absence was prolonged due to the death of his father, Earl, in May.

The script seemed almost too perfect to play out -- Tiger teeing it up for the first time in nine weeks at the U.S. Open, which ends on Father's Day.

As if playing with a heavy heart weren't difficult enough, a beast of a course like Winged Foot allows no margin for error, a point not lost on Campbell.

"Toughest conditions in the world at a major championship, first time coming back after two months off or nine weeks off, his father passing away," Campbell said. "I mean, God, you've got to give him credit for actually turning up. That's one thing that I really admire about Tiger is that he wanted to come back just to play golf and get away."

Surely everyone would understand if Woods attributed his poor play at Winged Foot to a lack of time spent practicing while he grieved the loss of his father, who also doubled as his best friend. But not Tiger. He's not buying into that.

"When you don't execute, you're not going to be happy either way," Woods said. "What's transpired off the golf course, I don't know if it gives you a different type of perspective. But I don't care if you had what transpired in my life or not, poor execution is never going to feel very good."

Following his round, 52-year-old Jay Haas was asked about long layoffs he's taken in the past and how it affected his game. Was that what troubled Tiger at Winged Foot?

"I think most of the time when I've had a layoff it's been in the off season, October, November, December, and you come out and play Indian Wells and Bermuda Dunes, places like that," Haas said. "I don't show up at Winged Foot after two months off. It just worked out in the schedule for Tiger to do that. I'm all for him.

"I guess I'm not surprised he's struggling, but then again, he's still the best player in the world. You just cannot be so-so out here. He's just probably not real sharp. Yeah, I'm a little surprised that he's struggling like he is."

Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion who is just three off the lead here, has had forced time off in the past to recover from wrist surgery. He could relate to Tiger's hiatus.

"He's the best player in the world and he has taken a lot of time off," Furyk said. "Yeah, I'm surprised he didn't play better, or didn't make the cut, but it's understandable. It's a difficult golf course and it's a long time off.

"He's not happy to go out there even with a layoff and just try to make the cut and squeak in and finish 15th or 20th. He's going out there and demanding a lot of himself, and it's tough to do after a long layoff."

Struggling or not, Campbell couldn't help but be impressed by the no-quit attitude Woods always seems to play with.

"He never gives up that boy, I'll tell you," Campbell said. "No, he gave it all towards the end. He needed to make a birdie there on the last hole. He rushed his chip 20 feet past, but he didn't give up at all. To come back under the circumstances speaks volumes on how strong he is as a person.

"I mean, it's a tough thing. I'm lucky that my father is still alive, but for him to come back only after two months. Two months ago his father passed away. That's not very long, you know? Time heals, and I believe that eventually it's going to empower Tiger to be a better player. "