Tiger Woods conceded he is "just trying to hold on" after struggling with a stiff back as the 15-time major champion narrowly avoided the cut at the Memorial Tournament.
Woods – in action on the PGA Tour for the first time since February – barely survived at Muirfield Village, where the American superstar ended the second round just one shot above the cut line.
The five-time Memorial champion, who opened the event with a 71, signed for a four-over-par 76 to close Friday three over in Dublin, Ohio.
Three bogeys from his first nine holes left Woods in trouble, but the 44-year-old battled after the turn by birdieing two of his final three holes to make his 18th consecutive cut at the tournament.
"I wasn't quite moving as well as I'd like and couldn't quite turn back and couldn't quite clear. It was a bit of a struggle," said Woods, whose career has been plagued by back issues in recent years following surgery.
He needs to hole it.@TigerWoods pars No. 9 and finishes at 3-over par.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 17, 2020
The projected cut is 2-over.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/NTUj87rCsL
"It started this morning during the warm-up. It wasn't quite as good as I'd like, and it is what it is. The last four or five years have been difficult as I've gone through procedures and have tried to come back. It's going to happen more times than not.
"Ageing is not fun. Early on in my career I thought it was fantastic because I was getting better and better and better, and now I'm just trying to hold on."
Woods, who is 12 strokes behind leaders Ryan Palmer and Tony Finau, added: "I don't have the same type of stamina as I used to have, that's for sure, when I was training hard and running and all that stuff.
"Granted, I'm a lot older now, so things change, they evolve. You try to suck it up as best you can and get through it."