Woods in good position to end season with win
Tiger Woods is three shots ahead and one round away from capping his comeback season with a moment that has defined his career.
Winning.
Woods played the most dynamic golf he has all year Saturday with six birdies in his opening seven holes to build a five-shot lead in the Tour Championship in Atlanta. He cooled from there with a few mistakes and had to settle for a 5-under 65 and a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.
He has the 54-hole lead for the first time since his last victory in 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational. He has never lost an official tournament when leading by more than two shots going into the final round, and his closing record with the lead is 42-2 on the PGA Tour.
Woods has never been in better position to show he’s all the way back from four back surgeries that once made him fear he might never play again.
“I’ve gone through a lot this year to get myself to this point, and understanding and fighting my way through it,” Woods said. “I’m certainly much more equipped than I was in March because of what I’ve gone through.”
Wood was at 12-under 198 and will be paired for the first time in final group with McIlroy on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy birdied two of his last three holes for a 66.
“It’s obviously exciting for the golf tournament. It’s exciting for golf in general that he’s up there,” McIlroy said. “But for me, all I can do is concentrate on myself. The game is hard enough without looking at other people. Go out there, take care of my business, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Champions Tour: Madison’s Steve Stricker and Brandt Jobe topped the Sanford International leader board again after another cool and breezy day in the inaugural PGA Tour Champions event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
After matching Jerry Smith and David McKenzie with first-round 7-under 63s, Stricker and Jobe each shot 67 to get to 10-under 130 at Minnehaha Country Club.
Jobe made an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th, and Stricker missed a 6footer to leave them tied.
Stricker won in Arizona and Mississippi in consecutive starts in May for his first senior victories. Next week in France, he will be one of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk’s assistants.