JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Tiger Woods trudged toward the 18th green, his head down after one last shot plopped into the water.

The gallery at Atlanta Athletic Club mustered some polite — almost sympathetic — applause.

It was a far cry from the roar he’s heard so many times, but hardly the only thing that’s changed in Tiger’s world.

Once identified by either his No. 1 ranking or his 14 majors, Woods missed the cut Friday at the PGA Championship with a performance that was even more shocking because of the numbers he compiled.

He hit into 22 bunkers. He put four balls in the water. His five double bogeys were the most he ever made in one tournament.

With one final bogey for a 3-over 73, Woods finished out of the top 100 for the first time ever in a major. He was 15 shots behind Jason Dufner, who has never won a PGA Tour event, and Keegan Bradley, playing in his first major.

“Obviously frustration, disappointment that I’m not contending in the tournament,” Woods said. “Next time.”

That’s going to be a while. He doesn’t expect to tee it up again until the Australian Open in November, and his next shot at a 15th major title is eight long months away, the Masters next spring.

“I got some time off again,” said Woods, who had just come off a three-month layoff last week after allowing an injured leg to fully heal.

His body may be feeling good, but his game is a mess.

This week, it’s a bunch of obscure guys who are playing a game that used to be familiar to Woods.

Dufner, who hasn’t made a cut since the last week in May, holed a 25-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole and threw in five birdies for a 5-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard for the first time in a major.

Bradley, a tour rookie and the nephew of LPGA great Pat Bradley, did even better with a bogey-free round of 64.

They weren’t the only surprising front-runners. There were only three major winners among the top 25 — Jim Furyk, Davis Love III and Trevor Immelman, all of them with one title apiece.

Journeymen D.A. Points (67) and John Senden (68) were one stroke off the lead. Forty-six-year-old, no-time tour winner Brandt Jobe (69) was another shot back.

“These guys are all great players,” Bradley insisted. “It’s not like they just kind of stumbled up there. They’ve been out here a long time.”

Even as Steve Stricker followed up his record-tying 63 with a 74, and as Rory McIlroy made it around with a heavily taped right wrist, Woods captivated the crowd on another steamy day in Atlanta.

Now the only question is when — and where — he will play next.