USA TODAY International Edition
Tiger can’t see his way to a good putting day
PARAMUS, N.J. – If one were to look at the stat sheet Tiger Woods produced in Saturday’s third round of The Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club, the reaction would be on the positive side.
Woods signed for his first bogey-free round of the year, after all. He finished with a birdie from 6 feet. Had another solid ball-striking day, especially with the driver. Shot 3-under-par 68.
Statistics, however, don’t tell the whole story. Instead, Tiger’s body language told a more accurate tale.
A day after turning in one of his worst putting performances of his career — he took 35 putts — his work with the shortest club in his bag left him wanting again. Woods looked dejected and exasperated throughout the round. Yes, he took seven fewer putts in the third round than he did in the second, but it was another one of those days on the greens.
Thus, his highly anticipated, earlymorning tussle with Ian Poulter — a possible Ryder Cup dream singles match in the fall — fell flat as they traded par saves and light applause instead of body blows and birdies.
“For the week, I’ve only made (seven) birdies, and that’s not going to get it done,” said Woods, who, after rounds of 71-71-68, was 13 shots back heading into the final round Sunday. “These guys are making a boatload of birdies, and as soft as it is, I just haven’t made any.”
Bryson DeChambeau shot 8-under 63 to take the lead with a 197 total, four strokes better than Keegan Bradley, who burned the course with a 62 Saturday. Among other notable players, a large group at 9 under included Jordan Spieth (64), Phil Mickelson (68) and Brooks Koepka (72).
“I always love (a bogey-free round),” Wood said. “But today is one of those days where I could have made a few more birdies. As soft as it got, you’ve got to try to make birdies, and I just didn’t do it.”
Oh, he came close. Woods missed birdie chances from 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 feet and left a 25-footer on the lip. As the misses mounted, so did Woods’ frustration meter, especially when his memory is fresh with his runner-up finish in the PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in his last start, where his putter matched the sizzling temps in St. Louis.
His problems didn’t have to do with the putter, so don’t expect a putter change. It didn’t have much to do with his stroke, either. Mostly, it had to do with his eyes. And not even the eyes of his caddie, Joe LaCava, helped.
“I’m just not seeing the lines this week. Just the way it is, just the way it goes,” Woods said. “I’ve called Joey in a few times this week. ‘Joey, I see three different breaks here.’ He said, ‘Yeah, so do I.’ I’m hitting in these spots where I’ve had double-breakers, or if not triplebreaking putts, and I’m just not seeing or feeling correctly through those areas.
“Have I hit some bad putts, yeah, of course. But I’m just not seeing the breaks and for some reason, just one of those weeks where even the good ones are hitting the lips (of the cup), but they are not lipping in, they’re lipping out.”
Still, after three frustrating days, he remains optimistic he can salvage the week and head to TPC Boston for next week’s Dell Technologies Championship with some momentum. Especially seeing how he’s hitting the driver these days after tweaking his loft and shaft.
“I think if I can get to double digits, that would be nice,” Woods said. “I just want to get to 10 under. I think that would be a nice way to end the week. It’s not going to win, but at least I can get some good momentum going into Boston and on a golf course that I’ve won on before.”