Tiger Woods fires 1 bass at Tame 3rd Round at Memorial Tournament | Bleach Report

Darron Cummings / Associated Press

Tiger Woods failed to make a serious charge in the third round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament with a minor 71 on Saturday at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Woods barely survived the cut after a 76-out-of-four sent him down for qualifying during Friday’s second round. He couldn’t muster the kind of memorable move-in performance he needed to get back into contention, with four birdies and three bogeys in Round 3.

His overall score is two, he was tied for 49th when he left the field.

Although Woods will not achieve his record of 83 wins on the PGA Tour this week, it was a positive sign that he was able to play Saturday’s round without signs of physical restraints that would change the game after admitting he dealt with back strain on Friday. .

“Aging is not fun,” he told reporters after the second round. “At the beginning of my career, I thought it was fantastic because I was getting better and better, and now I’m just trying to hold on.”

There were moments of vintage tiger brilliance with his irons early in the first round, which led to a couple of birdies within the first three holes, but it’s been primarily a fight from that point.

He is also not dealing with a single problem. Its handling has been erratic, its generally reliable irons have not been marked, and some short range putter failures prevented it from steaming.

Those are the signs of a rusty golfer, which shouldn’t come as a significant surprise as Woods, 44, is making his first start on the Tour since the Genesis Invitational in mid-February.

However, expectations were raised due to his great performance at Capital One’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” golf exhibition in May. He was excellent while teaming up with Peyton Manning to defeat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in an entertaining duel in the rain.

However, playing 18 holes for charity and going through four consecutive rounds of competitive golf on the PGA Tour are two completely different animals. Dealing with the occasional physical setback, especially those related to his troubled back, is the new normal for the 15-time senior champion.

Having Tour rounds under your belt is important because the number of events you will be able to play in the coming months is uncertain due to condensed scheduling caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He’ll want to peak in all three major tournaments: the PGA Championship (Aug. 6-9), the US Open (Sept. 17-20), and the Masters (Nov. 12-15), and will try to defend himself. His green jacket is in Augusta, Georgia, so trying to manage his workload is crucial to avoid substantial back setbacks during that stretch.

So as Woods rounds Sunday to finish the Memorial, a record-winning event five times, it probably won’t have much of an impact on the tournament itself, it’s key in his quest to get back in top shape if he wants to take one more step toward Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 majors in 2020.

There are three events on the calendar before the PGA Championship next month, but there is a good chance that the world’s No. 14 golfer will not play again after Sunday until the first major season begins at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. .