Tiger Woods falters at British Open

A day after vowing that his golf game was “only going to get better,” Tiger Woods has hit a bump in his comeback trail.

Dropping three strokes in the first two holes, Woods stood at par through 16 holes in the second round of the British Open on Friday. Woods was looking at falling further behind after hitting his tee shot on No. 17 out of bounds and suddenly appeared in danger of missing the cut.

The British Open represents his second tournament after undergoing back surgery in the spring. Woods failed to make the cut at his first event, the Quicken Loans National, but insisted that he had shaken off the rust from his layoff.

A three-under 69 in the first round at Royal Liverpool seemed to reinforce that notion, but Friday’s play did not go as smoothly, with Woods showing flashes of his famed temper as he made a string of pars after his rough start.

Playing a few holes back, Rory McIlroy extended his lead to nine under.

Twitter: @LATWharton