British Open 2015 projected cut: Tiger Woods, John Daly in danger of going home early

A three-hour rain delay on Friday morning ensured that the cut at the 2015 Open Championship will not be made on schedule, so that’s one way Tiger Woods will get to see the weekend at St. Andrews.

Woods is the biggest name on the wrong side of the cut line, staring down another second round where he’ll have to grind and go low just to get a crack at 36 more holes. Tiger may get the unfortunate side of the weather on Friday as well, with winds expected to start gusting even harder to upwards of 50 mph. The rain is expected to hold off, but it was so heavy this morning that the early players were able to dodge it because it made the course unplayable.

Tiger is 4-over after shooting the worst St. Andrews round of his professional career on Thursday, a 76 in ideal scoring conditions. It was a complete step back from any progress he thought he’d made two weeks ago at the Greenbrier. Everything was poor -- he stubbed his tee shots, his irons and approach shots were horrendous and he missed several short putts. So Tiger will need more than a miracle with the weather and his swing in its current form, or else he’ll miss consecutive major championship cuts for the first time in his career. He won’t finish up until Saturday morning because of that rain delay earlier.

Another former champion at St. Andrews is also in danger of going home early, but he had a much better start on Thursday. It’s always a high-wire act with John Daly, and after playing his first 10 holes in 4-under and climbing the leaderboard, the 1995 Open winner regressed and finished his first 36 holes at 1-over. That’s just below the fluctuating cut line, which is currently at even-par.

Tom Watson is another decorated Open champion, the modern master of this championship. This will be his final appearance in the British Open and it appears it will end on Friday afternoon. Watson started the day 4-over with an emotional standing ovation on the first tee. He dropped another shot right away to go in the wrong direction to 5-over. Watson will need a mid-60s round that his 69-year-old body and the afternoon weather probably will not permit.

The conditions are toughening for the second half of the field so the cut line may eventually drop a shot or two. Daly would be the primary beneficiary there because he’s already in the clubhouse at 1-over, while Watson and Woods will have to play through it. In addition to those three former champions, here’s the rest of the field hovering around the cut line.

SB Nation video archives: Urban golfing with a U.S. Open champ (2012)