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Tiger Woods‘ first green jacket since 2005 is officially within reach.
Woods carded a five-under 67, putting him tied for second 11 under overall following Saturday’s third round of the 2019 Masters Tournament. He’s tied with Tony Finau and one stroke behind leader Francesco Molinari, who is on the course as of publication.
Playing in one of the last groups of the day, Woods had to watch on as the field behind him went low. Finau soared up the leaderboard with an eight-under 64, one off the course record, and Webb Simpson (-9) matched him to put pressure on the leaderboard.
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Tiger Woods is tied for the lead at #themasters https://t.co/dC2JEODVSC
Woods responded with yet another stellar round, his second straight in the 60s and third under par for the tournament. He carded six birdies against only a single bogey and had birdie putts on Nos. 17 and 18 that would have given him the 54-hole lead.
Woods made every putt he had under 10 feet and had the course roaring with as-close-to-peak Tiger vibes as possible.
Woods has won four times at Augusta and rewrote the Masters record books during his prime. He and Jordan Spieth have the lowest-ever 72-hole score in the tournament (270), and his 12-stroke win over the field in 1997 remains a record. A number of the course changes that took place at Augusta in the early 2000s were essentially a result of Tiger’s obliteration of the course.
While he made things look easy early in his Masters career, Tiger’s been the victim of both himself and bad luck over the last nearly decade and a half. He’s finished in the top six seven times, including two second-place outings. None of those have come in the last five years because of Woods’ injuries, but this is the healthiest stretch he’s had in recent memory.
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A Tiger Woods roar at Amen Corner echoes through Augusta National. https://t.co/uwp4mcU5Wm
“I feel like I can win,” Woods told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve proven that I can do it, and I put myself there with a chance to win the last two major championships of the year last year. I was right there and just needed to have a couple more things to go my way and not throw away a couple shots here and there, which I was able to do at East Lake [for the Tour Championship].
“I just feel like that I’ve improved a lot over the past 12, 14 months, but I’ve more than anything just proven to myself that I can play at this level again. I’ve worked my way back into one of the players that can win events. I know that I can play this golf course; I’ve had some success here.”
The fourth round will be played under somewhat unorthodox circumstances because of impending weather. Players will be grouped in threesomes and begin play at 7:30 a.m. ET. Woods will be part of a final group with Finau and Molinari, teeing off at 7:20 a.m.
“The safety of everyone on our grounds is paramount,” chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement. “We also believe the earlier start will give us the best opportunity to complete the Masters on Sunday. This decision should benefit everyone—the players, our patrons and our fans watching around the world.
Woods said on the CBS broadcast after the round he found the set up “a little bit different” and it “doesn’t feel like Augusta National.” However, Woods was quick to note that Jack Nicklaus finished his career at the Masters on No. 9.
If history is any indication, Tiger will probably come up a little short Sunday. He has never won a major without at least sharing a 54-hole lead. Woods has also not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open.
That said, there will not be a soul at Augusta National Sunday morning thinking about anything other than Tiger being fitted for a new jacket.
from Viral News Updates http://bit.ly/2Z6ibId
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