Herzlich Willkommen » but Blanc is not as keen on that formation

BETHESDA, Md. -- Tiger Woods never felt so good after playing so badly. Taking two shots to escape a plugged lie in a bunker put him a hole. Four straight bogeys on the back nine Friday in the Quicken Loans National buried his chances of making it to the weekend. Over two rounds at Congressional, he missed 16 greens and managed to save par only three times. Woods was back -- just not for very long. Playing for the first time in more than three months because of back surgery, he had a 4-over 75 on Friday and missed the cut by four shots. It was only the 10th time in his PGA Tour career that Woods missed a 36-hole cut, and the first time he didnt sound overly distressed. "I hate to say it, but Im really encouraged by what happened this week," Woods said. "I missed the cut by four shots -- thats a lot. But the fact that what I was able to do physically, and the speed I had and the distance that I was hitting the golf ball again, I had not done that in a very long time. Felt great today. Then, as I said, I made so many little mistakes ... all the little things that I know I can fix. But as I said, thats very encouraging." And it wasnt all that surprising. Woods had played only four tournaments this year while coping with an increasingly sore back, which led him to have surgery March 31 and miss the first two majors. He had hoped to return for the British Open next month. Instead, he felt strong enough to play the Quicken Loans National, primarily because it benefits his foundation and Woods figured he needed to get in a little competition before going to Royal Liverpool. Even it if was only two rounds. "I came back four weeks earlier than we thought I could," Woods said. "I had no setbacks. I got my feel for playing tournament golf. I made a ton of simple, little mistakes -- misjudging things and missing the ball on the wrong sides and just didnt get up-and-down on little, simple shots. Those are the little things I can correct." Marc Leishman of Australia turned potential bogey into unlikely birdie when he holed out from 127 yards on the par-5 ninth hole on his way to a 5-under 66 and a four-way share of the lead going into the weekend. Oliver Goss, another Aussie who is making his second pro start, had a bogey-free 66 and joined Leishman at 6-under 136 along with Ricky Barnes (69) and Patrick Reed (68), who already has won twice this year. Woods was 13 shots behind at 7-over 149. It wasnt the largest 36-hole gap from the leaders in the previous nine times he missed the cut on the PGA Tour. It just looked that way. Woods took two shots to get out of a plugged lie in a bunker on the fifth hole and made double bogey. He three-putted for par on the next hole and never looked more sloppy than on the short par-4 eighth. He was in perfect position after hitting a big drive, 61 yards from the hole at the right angle. His pitch was too strong and left of the flag, leaving him a downhill chip from the collar. He hit that 7 feet by and missed the par putt. Even so, the damage came after consecutive bogeys around the turn. His tee shot went into a hazard on No. 11, forcing him to punch out. He hit a wild hook off the tee on the 12th, and his second shot was headed for a bunker until it was suspended in the grass on the lip of the sand. He hit a poor chip from below the green on the 13th. And from the 14th fairway, he missed the green and hit another poor chip. Four bogeys, no time to recover. "If it were anybody else, I would say that I would expect kind of a struggle. But you just never know with Tiger," Jordan Spieth said after his own brilliant display of a short game that allowed him to make the cut. "He just got a couple rounds under his belt. So hes going to be a severe threat at the British -- probably a favourite -- and after playing these couple rounds, I think hell take something from it. "Hes not that far off from being right back to where he was." Woods took encouragement from not feeling any pain in his back, and from swinging as hard as he wanted with his driver. Thats what concerned him about playing this week. Turns out it was the two shortest clubs in his bag -- the wedge and putter -- that did him in. It was surprising to see Woods go straight from the range to the tee in both rounds. Most players give themselves a few extra minutes in the chipping area. "The short game was off," Woods said. "Ive been practicing on Bermuda grass, and I grew the grass up at my house and it was Bermuda. But come out here and play rye, its totally different. And it showed. I was off. I probably shout have spent more time chipping over on the chipping green than I did. But thats the way it goes." His last act as tournament host is to present the trophy, and that could be anyone. Ten players were separated by only two shots going into the weekend, and there was only a nine-shot differential from first to last place. Former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose had 65 to get within three shots of the lead. Cheap Bills Jerseys Online . -- A deflected pass that landed in DeSean Jacksons hands. Wholesale Bills Jerseys . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings snap a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 99-70 on Monday night. http://www.wholesalebillsjerseys.com/?ta...ran-neal-jersey. The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek. Cheap Bills Jerseys Authentic . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Youth Ray-Ray McCloud Jersey . First, the Red Wings scored the tying goal after officials missed the puck hitting the protective netting, then the Kings wound up losing in a shootout. That could affect playoff positioning in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and thats a concern for everyone.PARIS - Given how well Paris Saint-Germain played in Tuesday nights thrilling 3-2 win against a previously unbeaten Barcelona side, the clubs poor league form remains somewhat of a mystery.The two-time defending champion has drawn five of eight league games and coach Laurent Blanc said after the Barca game that perhaps his players lack enough motivation when theyre playing in the less competitive French league. Still, victory over Monaco on Sunday is paramount as league leader Marseille is gradually building up a healthy lead over PSG.Here are some things to know about this weekends games:___IBRAHIMOVIC DOUBTParis Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc is sweating on the fitness of star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahead of Sundays home game against Monaco. Ibrahimovic is struggling to recover from a left heel injury which has kept him out of the past three matches.If Ibrahimovic fails to recover in time to face Monaco, his absence may not be such bad news, after all.Without Ibrahimovic, the players gelled much better as a team, and showed in Tuesdays win against Barcelona that they could finally step out of his imposing shadow.I told the players before the game that to get great results there has to be great teamwork, Blanc said. Even though there were a lot of good individual performances, it was a collective performance above all.However, PSG is clearly better off having Ibrahimovic around. He was the French leagues top scorer in the past two seasons and totals 61 goals in 72 league games since joining PSG from AC Milan.___PASTORE OR CAVANI?Javier Pastores outstanding performance in Tuesdays 3-2 win against Barcelona in the Champions League means he will be hard to leave out of the side from now on.The Argentine playmaker was PSGs first big signing when he joined for 42 million euros ($53 million) three years ago, but over the past two seasons Pastore has failed to hold down a regular place under coach Laurent Blanc.He made a huge contribution against Barca, however, and was the best player on the night with his darting runs and superb passing.Blanc now faces somewhat of a headache, for when Ibrahimovic recovers from injury and returns to the side, Blanc will have to decide whether to go with one centre forward in a 4-3-3 formation or two up front in a 4-4-2.If he goes with just one, he must choose if he wants to keep Edinson Cavani or Pastore as one of his wide players.The prooblem is that Cavani cost PSG 64 million euros ($80.dddddddddddd1 million) and dropping such a costly player may prove problematic.A 4-4-2 would accommodate both Cavani and Pastore, but Blanc is not as keen on that formation.___MAGNIFICENT SEVEN?Led by the irrepressible form of top scorer Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has eight goals already, Marseille will be looking for a seventh straight league win when it travels to Caen on Saturday.With five goals in his past three games, it is little wonder that Marseilles notoriously hard to please fans voted him their best player of the month for September.It has been quite some turnaround for Gignac, who was beset by weight issues when he first joined the club four years ago and mercilessly teased by his own fans, who even nicknamed him Big Mac for his love of fast food.After managing only nine league goals in his first 51 games, Gignac turned his fortunes around by scoring 24 in his last 43 matches to become Marseilles No. 1 striker.He was called up to Frances squad by coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday for upcoming matches against Portugal and Armenia.___SANE SIDELINEDSecond-place Bordeaux has defended consistently well this season, and centre half Lamine Sanes absence will be a big blow to coach Willy Sagnol.Sane had an operation on his troublesome right knee Wednesday and he faces up to six weeks out.Sagnol had initially hoped Sane would only need physio treatment on his knee, but the operation means he will miss the trip to face defending champion Paris Saint-Germain on Oct. 25.Sane could return in time for the trip to Marseille three weeks later.Left back Diego Contento is also out of the Reims match because of a muscle problem.___MALOUDA EFFECTFlorent Malouda is proving to be somewhat of a lucky charm for Metz.Since the former Chelsea and France winger joined Metz a€” following a brief spell with Turkish side Trabzonspor a€” the newly-promoted side has won three straight games with Malouda proving influential.Malouda, who played 80 times for France, set up his sides third goal for Venezuelan striker Juan Falcon in last weekends 3-0 win against Reims.Metz is in fifth place and finds itself in the unexpected position of being level on points with Paris Saint-Germain, which is ahead only on goal difference.Metz will be confident of securing a fourth straight win when it travels to play 18th-place Evian on Saturday. 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