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Tiger Woods followed up his opening-round 74 at the 2022 PGA Championship with a 1-under 69 in Round 2 on Friday, sliding inside the 4-over cut line to see the weekend for his second straight major since returning from a serious car wreck. While Woods at 3 over sits 12 shots back of leader Will Zalatoris after 36 holes, it was not contention but improvement that was expected from Tiger this week.

Woods' 69 was tied for the 11th best round of the day at the time he entered the clubhouse. He seesawed his way through a muggy second round with another strong start, much like the one he had Thursday. Tiger birdied the fifth after throwing a dart to within feet on his approach, part of a 1-under start through seven. But he gave one back at the eighth before going out in even par.

The rollercoaster continued on the back with a birdie at 10 followed by a double bogey at 11. But as he is wont to do, Tiger held tight, made birdie at the par-5 13th and stuck his approach within a few feet at 16 for another. An impressive up and down at the 17th from just off the green all but officially punched his weekend ticket.

Woods played the final seven holes at 2 under, and with the pressure of the cut looming, he was just good enough to play 36 more holes.

"I knew what the number was. I just needed to go out there and do it," Woods told ESPN after the round. "… I had to grind and go to work, and I did, and made it, and hopefully this weekend i can get a hot weekend. With some tough conditions, you never know."

A fast start and a slump to the finish was the theme of Woods' appearance at the Masters last month, and he carried that into the PGA Championship on Thursday. But despite a pronounced limp at the end of the first round -- and despite continuing to use a club as a cane throughout both days -- Woods was not only good enough to withstand the tough conditions but appeared to improve as the day turned to night. Physically, though, that's clearly not the case.

"There's a lot of things [I can't do]," Tiger said, laughing after being asked about his recovering leg and overall physical limitations. "It's just the way it is. Luckily, over the course of my career, I've used my hands quite well. I've relied on feel to hit shots. … I know it wasn't exactly the way I wanted it to be; it wasn't pretty … but I hope I can [play prettier] this weekend."

Of the seven prior major championships held at Southern Hills, all seven eventual champions have held the lead at the 36-hole mark -- including Woods in 2007 -- so his chances 12 strokes off the pace of the lead entering the weekend are admittedly slim. Nevertheless, making another major championship cut and getting a chance to compete at the top of the sport is itself a huge accomplishment regardless of how the next few days play out.

Rick Gehman, Jonathan Coachman and Greg DuCharme recap Friday's action at the PGA Championship. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.