Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Tiger Woods Shoots 1 Under in Tame 3rd Round at the Memorial Tournament

Tim Daniels

Tiger Woods failed to make a serious charge in the third round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament with a one-under 71 on Saturday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Woods barely survived the cut after a four-over 76 sent him tumbling down the leaderboard during Friday's second round. He couldn't put together the type of memorable moving-day performance he needed to get back in contention, carding four birdies and three bogeys in Round 3.

His overall score stands at two over, which was tied for 49th place when he walked off the course.

Although Woods won't secure his record-setting 83rd PGA Tour victory this week, it was a positive sign he was able to play Saturday's round with no sign of game-changing physical restrictions after he admitted to dealing with back tightness Friday.

"Aging is not fun," he told reporters after the second round. "Early on in my career, I thought it was fantastic because I was getting better and better and better, and now I'm just trying to hold on."

There were moments of vintage Tiger brilliance with his irons early in the first round, leading to a pair of birdies within the first three holes, but it's been mostly a struggle since that point.

He isn't dealing with a single issue, either. His driving has been erratic, his usually trusty irons haven't been dialed in and some short-range misses with the putter prevented him from picking up any steam.

Those are the signs of a rusty golfer, which shouldn't be a significant surprise since Woods, 44, is making his first Tour start since the Genesis Invitational in mid-February.

Expectations were raised based on his strong showing in Capital One's "The Match: Champions for Charity" golf exhibition in May, though. He was terrific while teaming up with Peyton Manning to defeat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in an entertaining duel in the rain.

Playing 18 holes for charity and making it through four straight rounds of competitive golf on the PGA Tour are two completely different animals, though. Dealing with the occasional physical setback, especially those linked to his troublesome back, is the new normal for the 15-time major champion.

Getting Tour rounds under his belt is important because the number of events he'll be able to play in the coming months is uncertain because of the condensed scheduled caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He'll want to peak for the three major tournaments—the PGA Championship (Aug. 6-9), U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20) and Masters (Nov. 12-15)—and he'll be trying to defend his Green Jacket at Augusta, Georgia, so trying to manage his workload to avoid any substantial setbacks with his back during that stretch is crucial.

So while Woods' round Sunday to finish the Memorial, an event he's won a record five times, likely won't have much impact on the tournament itself, it's key in his quest to regain top form if he wants to take another step toward Jack Nicklaus' record 18 majors in 2020.

There are three events on the schedule before the PGA Championship next month, but there's a good chance the 14th-ranked golfer in the world doesn't tee it up again after Sunday until the season's first major kicks off at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.  

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)