DUBLIN, Ohio – Tiger Woods finished his day at the Memorial at 2 under par and seven strokes off the lead in what has essentially become a U.S. Open tune-up. If that all sounds a bit mundane, consider how he reached his crossroads:

• After a slow start that included a bogey at the first hole, Tiger birdied the seventh, 11th and 13th holes to move to within five shots of the lead. “At 14 I had a look to go to 5 [under] and make birdie at 15, go to 6 [under] and all of a sudden I'm three back, and now here I am seven back,” he said. “So a round that could have flipped and gone in a positive way didn't do that because of what I did on 15.”

• Yes, the par-5 15th hole was not kind to Tiger. After a drive down the left side of the fairway left him 250 yards from the hole, he pulled his 5-wood second shot well left of the green and needed three shots to reach the putting surface. After chipping to 5 feet, he missed the putt for bogey. Asked which shot disappointed him the most: “The second shot, by far,” he said. “I could hit that ball 50 yards right of the flag and be fine. Anything inbounds right of the flag I have a chance to make birdie. I just can't afford to miss it left where that flag is. And I did.”

• Statistically, Tiger might have gotten everything he could out of his round. He hit 9-of-14 fairways and 11-of-18 greens in regulation to rank 31st in the field in strokes gained: tee to green.

• The highlight of Tiger’s day was his short game. He was 5-for-7 in scrambling and converted a 22-footer for birdie at the 13th hole. Although he needed 28 putts, he did have eight one-putts.

• There was a silver lining for Tiger. He admitted he’ll need a low round on Saturday if he’s going to fight his way back into contention and Justin Rose, who was paired with Tiger for the first two days, showed him the way with a 9-under 63 on Day 2.

• It was no big surprise but Tiger’s name was not on the commitment list for next week’s RBC Canadian Open which will make the Memorial his final start before the U.S. Open.

DUBLIN, Ohio – There has been no shortage of outrage over Hank Haney’s insensitive comments about women's golf earlier this week on his PGA Tour SiriusXM radio show, and following his round on Friday at the Memorial Tiger Woods was the latest to share his thoughts on the controversy.

“He deserved it,” Woods said of Haney’s suspension from the radio show. “Just can't look at life like that. And he obviously said what he meant, and he got what he deserved.”

Haney served as Woods’ swing coach for six years before the two split in 2010.

During Wednesday’s show on SiriusXM Haney and co-host Steve Johnson were discussing this week’s U.S. Women’s Open. When asked to predict a winner Haney said, “I’m gonna predict a Korean.”

“I couldn’t name you six players on the LPGA Tour,” Haney went on to say. “Maybe I could. Well … I’d go with Lee. If I didn’t have to name a first name, I’d get a bunch of them right.”

Haney was suspended from the show on Thursday and according to a statement from the PGA Tour officials are “reviewing his status on SiriusXM going forward.”

“I accept my suspension and apologize again,” Haney said in the statement.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jordan Spieth described his second-round 70 at the Memorial as an “easy-on-the-body kind of day,” which was a refreshing change for a player who hasn’t exactly been on an easy run the last few months.

Spieth had just a single bogey on Friday and was alone in fourth place at 8 under par, just a stroke off the lead, following another solid ball-striking round that included 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

“I found something in my striking on the range today and really trusted it pretty well on the course. I feel like it will get better day-to-day,” Spieth said.

That’s a dramatic improvement over where he was just last week when he ranked 35th in greens in regulation and 65th in fairways hit.

“It's by no shape or form on its A level, but it feels really close and it's in a position where if I just get a little bit better the next two days, I'm in great shape in this golf tournament,” he said.

Spieth has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts (T-3 at the PGA Championship and T-8 at the Charles Schwab Challenge) but those performances were largely driven by his putting, which was not as productive on Friday when he made just 45 feet of putts. Last week at Colonial he rolled in over 500 feet of putts.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Minutes after stepping off the final green, Rory McIlroy had no trouble pinpointing his biggest frustration from a disappointing stint at the Memorial.

“Birdieing the last hole today and missing (the cut) by one,” McIlroy said.

Tournament host Jack Nicklaus annually draws a strong field to central Ohio, and his Muirfield Village design also sends many of the biggest names in golf heading for the exits early. Such was the case this week, as McIlroy opened with a 75 en route to a 2-over total that was one shot too many.

“I guess I had some misses with my driver that ended up costing me,” McIlroy said. “I had a couple of chances coming in to try to be here for the weekend. Just a couple shots yesterday, and just not taking advantage of when I did put it in the fairway and had wedges in my hand.”

But McIlroy was not the only notable casualty of the 36-hole cut. Phil Mickelson’s much-publicized experiment with two drivers largely backfired, as he led the field in driving distance but finished 103rd out of 118 players in strokes gained: off the tee. Mickelson hit his opening tee shot Friday out of bounds and shot a 7-over 79 despite three birdies.

One shot above that was world No. 6 Justin Thomas, whose first start back from a wrist injury ended with a second-round 80. Thomas was sitting at 1 under and still very much in position to make the cut when he made the turn, but a back-nine 44 included a triple bogey on No. 12 and a double bogey on No. 18 after his final approach bounced off the cart path and landed on a chair in front of the clubhouse. He added next week’s RBC Canadian Open shortly after completing his round.

Thomas joins a strong field north of the border, as McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson had already made plans to play the week before Pebble Beach.

“I was glad to have it either way, whether this was a good week or not,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I really need to play my way into the U.S. Open considering how I’ve played the last three years.”

Former champ Matt Kuchar (+3), Muirfield Village member Jason Day (+5) and Colonial runner-up Tony Finau (+7) also missed the Memorial cut.

DUBLIN, Ohio – It helps to set goals, even when you start the day outside the cut line on the PGA Tour. And so former world No. 1 Justin Rose drew a mental line in the sand heading into the second round of the Memorial.

“I came out today with the intention of not just trying to make the cut, but trying to play a round that would get me into the tournament,” Rose said.

Consider that mission accomplished. Once sitting at 4 over for the week after an early bogey Friday, Rose set fire to Muirfield Village Golf Club the rest of the way en route to a second-round 63 that serves as the low score of the tournament by two shots. Instead of packing his bags, Rose will instead head into the weekend inside the top 10 and three shots off the lead.

“I’ve always been a bit of a fighter, back to the wall,” Rose said. “I missed a lot of cuts early in my career, and I hate missing cuts. I’ve got a lot of personal pride on a Friday to try to get it done.”

Playing in a marquee grouping alongside Tiger Woods and defending champ Bryson DeChambeau, Rose first showed signs of life when he hit his approach inside 3 feet on No. 5 for a kick-in eagle. That was followed by another eagle two holes later, and the Englishman chipped in for birdie on No. 11. 

Rose made six 3s in a row starting at No. 4, and in the 12 holes from Nos. 5-16 he was an eye-popping 10 under. Having captured his first Tour win here in 2010 and having lost a playoff in 2015, he’s now once again in the mix at one of his favorite courses despite a decidedly slow start.

“I guess the two eagles on the front kind of kick-started everything,” Rose said. “I kept just pushing myself to keep trying to go as low as I could. Once you’re through the cut line, then you’ve got to build your way into the tournament. It was a great day.”