Woods hopes of reaching Tour Championship fading

By Steve Keating

LEMONT, Illinois (Reuters) - Tiger Woods' hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Tour Championship continued to fade on Friday as the world number one slipped further down the BMW Championship leaderboard after carding a one-over-par 72.

For the second consecutive day a struggling Woods failed to break par on a Cog Hill layout he once owned, winning five times including his last PGA Tour triumph a year ago.

Despite his struggles, Woods has refused to wave the white flag on his chances of a top-five finish at the BMW and qualifying for the Tour Championship's elite 30-man field.

But if the world number one hopes to tee it up in Atlanta in two weeks's time, he will have to quickly find the magical form that has deserted him in the aftermath of his divorce and a swing overhaul that remains a work in progress.

"I made nothing today," Woods told reporters. "That pretty much sums it up. I hit the ball a hell of a lot better than my score indicates. I had a lot of putts inside 15-feet and I think I made one there on the last hole and that was it.

"I just haven't made a lot of putts out there this week."

While much of his game has gone missing, Woods has not lost his competitive fire, delivering when forced to produce a result each week to keep advancing through the FedEx Cup playoffs.

He began the Deutsche Bank Championship anchored near the bottom of the leaderboard after going four-over through his opening six holes but finished the weekend closer to the top in a tie for 11th allowing him to enter the BMW.

Playing the back nine first on a sunny late summer morning at Cog Hill, Woods looked ready to make a charge by going two-under after eight holes.

But that is as good as it got for Woods, his rally fizzling out with bogeys at the 18th and third followed by a double-bogey at the fifth before he signed off with a birdie at the last.

"I'm just trying to post good numbers, hit good shots, and place the ball accordingly on the correct side of the fairways, correct side of the greens, and go from there," added Woods.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)