Just like good old days for Woods
ponte vedra beach — It was just like the halcyon days of a previous era as Tiger Woods carded his best ever score at TPC Sawgrass, a seven-under-par 65, in the third round of the Players Championship on Saturday.
Woods, a 79-times winner on the PGA Tour, was in control of all facets of his game and wielded a hot putter to record his lowest numerical score on the PGA Tour since 2015.
It was also his best score under par since 2013, though he has played only sparingly in the ensuing five years while nursing a serious back injury.
After making the cut with nothing to spare on Friday, Woods teed off trailing halfway leader Webb Simpson by 14 strokes on another perfect morning.
“I finally got off to a good start,” said Woods, who sent waves of excitement through the massive gallery with eight birdies in the first 12 holes, before adding a lone bogey.
At eight-under 208, he finished the day 11 strokes behind Simpson, who shot 68 for a record seven-stroke lead over New Zealander Danny Lee.
Saturday’s performance was the latest positive sign for 42-year-old Woods, a two-times winner of the Players Championship, who is trying to regain sharpness after last year’s successful spinal fusion.
“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,” he said. —