Tiger Woods had everyone dreaming of PGA Tour win No 80 early in the third round of the Quicken Loans National but the roars turned to whimpers as an epic charge stalled on the back nine.
Starting the third round just four shots back, Woods had the crowd in a state of hysteria after four straight birdies moved him to within one shot of the lead after just seven holes.
But while the heat index at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm continued to rise, Woods’ putter started to cool off and a host of missed chances peppered his last nine holes.
In the final wash-up Woods shot a two-under 68 to move to seven under for the tournament, a distant six shots off the pace set by Francesco Molinari (65) and Abraham Ancer (62) at 13 under.
‘I played better than what my score indicates,’ Woods said.
‘It was frustrating because I thought that 10 under would have been a good score for me to end up at for the day and I could have easily gotten that today on the back nine.’
A win for Woods is certainly not completely out of the question as he sits in a tie for 10th place but the two-time FedExCup champion will need a special Sunday.
With temperatures expected to squeak towards 100°F on Sunday, Woods will base his strategy on how the golf course is set up but clearly intends to try to go low and post a number in the clubhouse.
‘I’m curious to see what they do with the golf course, if they keep letting it dry out or are they going to protect it against this heat,’ Woods said.
‘If they let it dry out, then the scores won’t be as low tomorrow, but if they protect it, then everybody’s been making birdies everywhere here.
‘Either way I’m going to have to shoot a low round to try to give myself a chance, but I would hope that it would be drier because it gives me a little better chance.’
Woods opened his round with a bogey and then played the next two holes loosely also, failing to birdie the par-five 2nd and then needing to make a 12-foot par save on the 3rd.
It was a critical putt as it kick-started a blistering run of four straight birdies with Woods stepping up his approach game and connecting putts from six, seven, 12 and eight feet.
A bogey on the 8th may have started the slide, except Woods rebounded immediately on the par-three 9th with a 25-foot birdie.
But it would be a long wait for more joy despite huge crowds willing his every move.
Woods missed makeable birdie putts from eight and nine feet on the next two holes and had to settle for par on the 12th also when his 21-foot effort almost missed.
A poor iron off the 13th tee would result in a sloppy bogey and then Woods missed another birdie from seven feet on the drivable par-four 14th.
A 20-foot try on the 15th wouldn’t drop but a sublime approach to five feet on the 16th finally resulted in his only birdie of the back side.
His 23-footer on the 17th wouldn’t drop and then the gloss was taken off the round when he went wayward off the 18th tee into a tough lie, hacked out into a bunker and failed to get up-and-down.
With his new mallet style putter, Woods now ranks 27th in the field through three rounds in strokes gained: putting.
It was his best friend on the front – where he made 78 feet, five inches of putts – but almost an enemy on the back as he made just 17 feet, five inches.
‘Every putt I missed on the back nine except for 18th were all high side, I just blew it through the high side three putts in a row,’ he said.
‘Frustrating.’
For those hoping to see history, it certainly was.
Credit: PGA TOUR
