The footsteps were growing louder and louder yesterday as Tiger Woods made his way around the front nine.
When he made the turn after having shot a crisp, 4-under 32, Woods had the eyes of the tournament fixed upon him because he was seemingly positioning himself for a final-round run at a victory.
“I got off to the ideal start,” Woods said.
After carding a birdie on the par-5 ninth to put himself at 5-under for the tournament, well within earshot of the lead, Woods quickly lost his edge. At one point, he was within two shots of the lead and it seemed the game was on.
But suddenly, while current leader Sergio Garcia was making a dramatic climb up the leaderboard with a chip-in eagle on the par-4 seventh to get to 11-under, Woods fell further and further from the lead with a balky back nine that featured numerous lost opportunities.
“I needed a few more [birdies] on the back nine,” said Woods, who finished with a 3-under 68. “I needed to shoot the same [score] as I shot on the front nine at least. [The round] was close to being a really good one.”
Woods put his tee shot on 10 – a short par-4 birdie hole that’s driveable – in the left trees and scrambled for par. He then bogeyed the par-4 11th, dropping to 4-under.
Though he got one back with a birdie on the par-4 12th to get to back to 5-under, Woods gave it back with a bogey on the par-4 17th, where he air-mailed the green with an 8-iron from the fairway.
Woods, who missed a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th, closed out his day with a disappointing par on the par-5 18th when he pushed a five-foot birdie putt past the hole.
Asked if those last couple of holes “hurt” him, Woods responded, “I don’t know if ‘hurt’ is the right word. It really puts me not in the mood I want to be in.”
Asked if Garcia’s eight-shot edge is insurmountable, Woods said, “If I really play well, I’m going to have to have a few breaks and putts going my way and really get things going early. I’m going to have to play a great round.
“When you’re this far behind you’re going to need a little bit of help. The way the guys at the top of the board are playing it’s going to awfully tough to catch them.”
TIGER’S GREATEST COMEBACKS
1998 Johnnie Walker Classic – Overcame eight-shot deficit in final round to Ernie Els and defeated him in a playoff.
2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am – Overcame five-shot deficit to Matt Gogel and Mark Brooks and won by two shots over Vijay Singh and Gogel. (Through 11 holes of the final round, Woods trailed Gogel by seven shots).
1996 Las Vegas Invitational – Overcame four-shot final-round deficit to Ronnie Black and won in a playoff over Davis Love III for his first victory as a pro.
1997 Mercedes Championships -Overcame four-shot final-round deficit to Tom Lehman and beat him in a sudden-death playoff.
