PGA Championship: Restricted Tiger Woods, top golfers in danger of missing cut

May 20 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods, who experienced pain throughout the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship, world No. 2 Jon Rahm and No. 12 Dustin Johnson are among the top golfers in danger of missing the major tournament's weekend cut.

Woods fired a 4-over par 74 in the first round Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. He sits tied for 99th. Only the Top 70 scores and ties out of the 156-player field will advance to Saturday's third round.

"My [right] leg is not feeling as good as I would like it to be," Woods told reporters, when asked about the leg he injured in a 2021 car crash.

"We will start the recovery process and get ready for [the second round]."

Woods, ranked No. 818, started his first round round with a birdie on No. 10, but would only card two more over the next 17 holes. He made bogey eight times Thursday on the Championship Course.

His group, which features No. 7 Rory McIlroy and No. 8 Jordan Spieth, will tee off for the second round at 2:36 p.m. EDT Friday.

"I did not hit a lot of good iron shots," Woods said. "I drove it well, but my irons were not very good. I didn't get the ball very close. I got off to a great start and didn't keep it going.

"It was a struggle tying to get the ball on the green. ... It was a frustrating day."

Woods said he can't put a "load" on his injured leg and that walking, twisting and pressing off it result in pain. He limped off the podium at his first-round news conference.

McIlroy fired a 5-under par 65 to take a one stroke lead into Friday's second round. No. 30 Will Zalatoris and No. 40 Tom Hoge were 4-under.

No. 9 Justin Thomas, No. 78 Matt Kuchar and No. 21 Abraham Ancer each penciled in scores of 3-under and are tied for fourth. Johnson and Rahm each carded 3-over par 73s and are tied for 76th.

No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was a co-favorite with Rahm, was 1-over Thursday and sits tied for 38th.

The second round of the season's second major tournament will air from 2 to 8 p.m. EDT Friday on ESPN. The third and fourth rounds will air Saturday and Sunday, respectively, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN and from 2 to 7 p.m. on CBS.

The winner of the tournament will claim the Wanamaker Trophy, along with a $2.16 million first-place prize.