Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Tiger Woods Shoots 3 Under, Well off Lead at Dell Technologies Championship

Tyler Conway

Moving day wasn't as kind to Tiger Woods as he hoped, as the former world No. 1 will likely end the 2018 Dell Technologies Championship well out of contention.

Woods shot a three-under 68 in Sunday's third round of the FedEx Cup playoff tournament, putting him at seven under overall and six strokes behind leaders Abraham Ancer and Tyrrell Hatton.

Putting was once again at the center of Woods' struggles. After going three under on a stellar front nine, he went even on the back and missed a number of makable putts. Woods had four birdie attempts on the back inside 12 feet and missed all but one, a tap-in on No. 18. He also had a par save from inside five feet on No. 13 that he hit almost double that length before making bogey.

Putting has been a major issue for Woods throughout the FedEx Cup. The Northern Trust was an exercise in Woods getting from fairway to green generally well before two-putting his way to constant pars. PGA's shots gained metric recorded Woods as nearly a full stroke on the green Sunday.

Woods also only hit two-thirds of his greens in regulation, a sign that his iron play isn't quite up to snuff. 

As it stands, Woods is sitting in 26th in the FedEx Cup standings. Barring a complete failure next week, he should still be in range to win the PGA playoff with a win at the Tour Championship—though that will ultimately depend on the standings going into that event.

Woods has not won on the PGA Tour since 2013. He's more than a decade removed from winning a major championship.

The last two weeks may be settling people into a new Tiger normal. He's not the broken down shell of himself he's been for the last half-decade. Tiger is a good golfer at this point of his career and has a handful of high moments on the season, highlighted by his second-place outing at the PGA Championship.

Those expecting the Tiger Woods of old to return, though, will likely remain disappointed. Woods, provided he stays healthy, will almost certainly win another golf tournament before his career ends. He might even win another major.

But odds are he'll spend the majority of the twilight of his career in the spot he's in now—languishing near the middle of the pack while golfers better than him keep playing. 

   

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