BUMMER OF 69
Wood back in 60s but says it's 'worst score he could have shot '
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — It had been 917 days since Tiger Woods did what he did Saturday.
You have to go back to the third round of the 2015 Wyndham Championship to find the last score in the 60s Woods shot in a PGA Tour full-field tournament before he stamped a 1-under 69 in Saturday’s Honda Classic third round at PGA National.
Woods, whose round included three birdies and two bogeys to stand him on even par for the week, is tied for 11th, seven shots out of the lead held by Luke List (7-under) — not realistically close enough to win the tournament Sunday.
But Woods, as he has all week, walked away from his round encouraged with the progress he continues to make in his comeback, which now is nine rounds complete.
Both Woods and his caddie, Joe LaCava, called the round “the highest score” he could have shot, meaning he hit the ball better than his score indicated.
“I really hit it good,” Woods said. “I really had nice control of it. If I could have just made a few more putts on the front nine, could have got the round started. Overall, I feel very pleased to shoot something in the red and gave myself a chance going into [Sunday].”
Woods’ week has been one of progression. He hit 7 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation in his opening round Thursday. He hit 8 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens Friday. And on Saturday, those numbers increased to 9 of 14 and 13 of 18, respectively.
When Woods’ round was complete, he ranked third in the field for the day in proximity to the hole on his approach shots at 26.8 feet and second for the week at 29.1 feet.
“He seems to be getting better every day,” LaCava said. “Besides two 6-irons he hit on the par-3s on the back nine [at Nos. 15 and 17], he was pretty much money all day. He hit it pin-high consistently, and hit a lot of consistent shots off the tee.”
Woods, for the second consecutive day, made a mess of the par-3 15th hole, where he hit a 7iron into the water and took double Friday and made bogey Saturday. On Saturday, he also bogeyed the par-3 17th hole. Those were his only two bogeys of the round, and his birdie on the 18th to close the day took some of sting of 17 away.
“The last two days are probably the worst score he could have shot coming off the golf course, and that’s a positive sign,” LaCava said. “He’s hitting good putts, but nothing’s going in. He’s hitting a little more of the stinger shots, so you know he’s swinging decent when he starts hitting those shots. I like the way he’s working the ball both ways.
“It’s slowly coming together. I don’t want to get ahead of myself after three good rounds. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Jason Dufner, who was paired with Woods on Saturday, said he thought Woods “played really well.”
“I played with him a bunch before he went to San Diego and L.A. over at [his home club] Medalist, so I’m kind of familiar with where he’s at and how he’s going,” Dufner said. “The stuff I saw at home was a little bit better than I saw in San Diego and L.A., but I think he’s starting to get the wheels going a little bit and figuring out how to play golf again.
“[Saturday] was closer to what I saw in our casual rounds, which is a good indication that he’s on his way to playing some good golf. If he goes out and posts 3- or 4under [Sunday], he might go and win the tournament. I don’t think he’s that far away.” Is he ready to win? “I still think there’s work to be done, but it’s more of a possibility for sure,” LaCava said. “He seems to be trending in the right direction. He’s still one hot round away from possibly winning … [seven] back it’s going to be tough, but never say never. He shot that 62 with Rory.”
Indeed, in the 2012 Honda Classic, Woods shot a finalround 62 to put some heat on eventual winner Rory McIlroy.
Asked if he can do that again, Woods said: “I’m going to have to do something under par for sure. You never know what can happen the last few holes here. A lot of things can happen and have happened in the past. First of all, I need to go and post a number.
“I’m going to be far enough ahead of the leaders, probably 45 minutes or an hour, [and] if I can go ahead and post a number early, almost reminiscent to what I did with Rory, you never know, and wait and see what happens.”