Despite Tiger Woods’
65 at The Players Championship, Webb Simpson is coasting with a 7-shot lead.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Tiger Woods teed off when the leaders were having breakfast prior to the third round of Saturday’s Players Championship.
By lunchtime, Woods had moved 60 spots up on the leaderboard and into tie for eighth place, drawing Sunday crowds and roars on his way to a 7-under par 65 — his career-best score at TPC Sawgrass during 64 rounds.
Woods’ epic and encouraging round featured a front-nine 30, a season-high eight birdies, just one bogey and a couple of missed opportunities on the back nine that cost him a shot at a course-record 63. His biggest hiccup was a missed birdie putt just outside five feet on the par-5 16th hole.
“To be 8-under there through 12, realistically I probably could have got a couple more out of it and got to 10 for the day,” Woods said. “But I’ll take it.”
When the day ended, it was something to build on for Woods following two days of lackluster golf left squarely on the 1-under par cut line.
But the performance did little to put Woods in contention.
Webb Simpson made certain of that.
With Woods leading a star-studded pack chasing from well behind, Simpson’s singular play at the Stadium Course extended a five-shot lead after 36 holes into a tournament-record sevenshot advantage entering the final round.
After he tied the course record with a 63 Friday, Simpson carded a seemingly easy 68 during the third round.
Simpson made a 15-foot par save on the challenging par-4 5th hole look routine. But his performance reached the point of absurdity when he made eagle from the back bunker on the par-5 11th hole to reach 19-under par.
The 32-year-old ended the day there to tie Greg Norman for the lowest 54-hole lead in 1994. Norman went on to set the tournament scoring record at 24-under-par 264.
“I don’t think it matters until I win,” Simpson said. “All those things that have happened, I’d love to know them if I win tomorrow. But I’m trying not to dwell there. I’m trying to just look forward, do what I always do on a Saturday night of a golf tournament and get ready tomorrow morning.
“That’s kind of where I’m at.”
Simpson looks more than prepared to challenge Norman’s mark.
Either way, Simpson’s historic stranglehold on the lead at TPC sucked the life out of the tournament. By day’s end, the crowds had thinned out and fan enthusiasm had waned.
But earlier in the day, Woods had the Stadium Course rocking.
“I have been doing this event a long time,” longtime NBC analyst Gary Koch said. “I can’t recall so many people here so early on Saturday morning.”
Woods ended the second round squarely on the 1-under par cut line, searching for his game and 14 shots behind Simpson. But on Saturday, all the pieces fell in place from the opening hole for the 42-year-old.
Woods’ iron play was spot on and his putter red hot as he birdied four of the first five holes. He finished the day hitting 15 of 18 greens in regulation and sinking 99 feet in putts to finish with the lowest score to par since August 2013.
“I birdied the first couple of holes and I just kept it rolling from there,” he said. “It was nice to see a few putts go in. I hit a lot of quality shots and 65 was probably as high as I could have shot today, which was kind of nice.”
Knowing the scoring conditions and accessible pin placements, Woods did not expect to end the third round in the top 10. Instead, a number of top players struggled, led by Jon Rahm (77), Brooks Koepka (74), Sergio Garcia (75) and Alex Noren (77). Each is in the top 20 of the world rankings.
To climb the leaderboard again today, Woods still will have to contend with plenty of firepower. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is 10-under par and former PGA Championship winners Jason Day, Jason Dufner and Jimmy Walker are 9-under.
But the two biggest names still in the field are a shot back at 8-under par and set for a high-profile Sunday pairing. Woods and 24-year-old Jordan Spieth will go off in the fifth-to-last pairing at 2:05 p.m.
It will give fans something to anticipate, at least. Simpson’s seven-shot lead has removed any finalround suspense for anyone but Simpson, whose last win was in November 2013.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said.