Tiger Woods will start Sunday at the Valspar Championship one behind rookie Corey Conners as he seeks his 80th win.
The roars are back.
When Woods chipped in from behind the 9th green, the roar was unmistakable, the tree-rattling variety that belongs to only one player in golf. Moments later, Woods raised the putter in his left hand as another birdie putt dropped for a share of the lead at the Valspar Championship.
Saffa leaderboard:
- T7. Rory Sabbatini, Tyrone van Aswegen -5
- T11. Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen -4
- T40. Charl Schwartzel E
- T65. Ernie Els +4
Even the players trying to beat Woods got swept up in the emotions of seeing him closer than ever to having a chance to win again.
‘I can confirm he’s back. The roars are back,’ said Brandt Snedeker, who was along for the ride with Woods and matched his 67. ‘It’s fun to hear the crowd going crazy again and realize how excited we are in having him back out here and play the way he is. He’s playing great.’
He hit wedge into seven feet below the hole on the par-five 11th, and another roar erupted. Woods missed.
Approaching the 12th, where four small grandstands covered by tents and a large grandstand to the right of the green were filled with fans who were looking for reasons to let loose. Anything on the green would have sufficed, and Woods played it beyond the pin and used the slope to get the ball rolling back to eight feet.
At this point, the gallery was so delirious they couldn’t sync up their chants. Some were yelling, ‘Tiger! Tiger!’ Others were yelling, ‘U-S-A!’ Most were just screaming. And then Woods missed again.
He dropped his only shot on the next hole when his tee shot sailed over the green into matted, thin grass where the gallery had been standing. He laid open a lob wedge and swung hard on a tough flop shot, only to come up short and into the bunker. About the time he was dropping a shot, Conners was across the lake at the 12th and rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to stretch his lead to two shots over Justin Rose, and three shots over Woods.
Most of the fans in the bleachers had their backs turned to watch Woods. It was like that all day.
‘I was walking down the 6th and looked over to the 4th green,’ Rose said. ‘I said to my caddie, “Have you ever seen those crowds?” Eight-deep back there. It was a view that certainly wouldn’t have been the same had he not been playing. He’s on the leaderboard and challenging for the lead. I think it’s exciting to have him back for the casual golf fan, but now the true Tiger fans get excited.’
And that includes Woods.
‘I am excited,’ he said. ‘I feel like I’m playing a bit better and cleaner. I moved myself up the board. I know it’s packed up there, but at least I got a shot.’
Woods hasn’t won since his seven-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013. He hasn’t won a tournament going into the final round since the AT&T National at Congressional in 2012.
It has been a remarkable return from his fourth back surgery just 10 months ago. And to think five months ago, Woods wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to compete at a high level. He said his doctors had not given him clearance to hit balls.
And here he is, one shot out of the lead, and knowing that his work is not done.
Rose holed out from 120 yards for eagle on the 11th hole, added a few birdies and got himself into the final group with a rookie who, so far, has shown the poise to block out everything around him.
Snedeker, coming off a sternum injury that knocked him out of golf for the second half of last year, was equally impressive as the guy in his group everyone came to see. He twice matched birdies with Woods with 12-foot putts, and after falling two shots behind, and the crowd getting louder by the hole for Woods, Snedeker battled back with a pair of birdies for a 67.
He will play with Woods again in the final round and knows what to expect. This will be the fifth time Snedeker has played with Woods this year.
‘Loud as I’ve heard it in a long time,’ Snedeker said.
