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Chicago -Tiger Woods' chances of reaching the Tour Championship, the finale of the US PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, dimmed further on Friday with a lacklustre second round at the BMW Championship.
The world number one needed to make a move up the leaderboard but instead failed to break par for the second straight day.
Woods posted a one-over 72, and for the second consecutive round had a double bogey on his card.
He was tied for 40th at three-over, nine shots behind halfway leaders Matt Kuchar and Charlie Wi of South Korea.
He must finish around fifth to be among the top 30 players in FedEx Cup standings who will advance to the Tour Championship, where they have a chance to battle for the 10 million-dollar playoff bonus.
Woods is the defending champion and a five-time winner at Cog Hill, a public course in suburban Chicago.
The last time Woods opened with consecutive over-par rounds here was in 1994, when he was an 18-year-old amateur.
Woods, in the process of changing his swing, fell prey to the inconsistency that such a process can bring.
"I'm caught right between takeaways, and I hit some bad shots around the greens because of it," Woods said. "It'll come around. I just need more time, more practice."
Woods insisted he could still gain a Tour Championship berth.
"I did it last year on the weekend," said Woods, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday on his way to the BMW title last year. "Hopefully, I can do it again."
Woods, whose entire season has been overshadowed by the sex scandal that engulfed him last November, eventually leading to divorce from ex-wife Elin Nordegren, said on Wednesday that he didn't have the time or energy to begin revamping his game earlier in the season.
He parting with swing coach Hank Haney in May and began working with Canadian swing coach Sean Foley in August.
While he feels comfortable with Foley's recommendations, they aren't yet automatic.
"Even if I have to hit creative shots out of the trees, I still have to do it according to the new framework," Woods said. "I've been through this process before so I understand it. I've just got to be patient."
Nor did Woods get much going on the greens, missing one birdie attempt from three feet and missing a six-footer for par at the third hole.
"I made nothing," Woods said. "I feel like I'm hitting good putts, they're just not going in."
Woods said the swing changes demand so much practice time that other aspects of the game get short shrift.
"When I went through the changes with Butch (Harmon) and Hank and now with Sean, I went through stretches where I didn't chip the ball well or putt well because there's only so much time you have to spend and I've been working hard on my full swing," Woods said. "It's coming around, but certainly my short game is not where it needs to be."
Leaderboard:
Charlie Wi 67-69-136
Matt Kuchar 64-72-136
Marc Leishman 72-65-137
Ian Poulter 66-72-138
Paul Casey 69-69-138
Luke Donald 68-70-138
Retief Goosen 67-71-138
Dustin Johnson 68-70-138
Hunter Mahan 71-68-139
Ryan Moore 65-74-139
Kevin Na 70-69-139
Justin Rose 68-71-139
Rory Sabbatini 69-71-140
Tim Clark 70-70-140
K.J. Choi 71-69-140
Adam Scott 71-69-140
Camilo Villegas 70-70-140
Greg Chalmers 72-69-141
Ernie Els 70-71-141
