Yahoo Lifestyle Tiger Woods says back feels better in bounce-back third round at Memorial
Tiger Woods looked and felt better in the third round of the Memorial Tournament on Saturday as he eases back into competitive golf for the first time since February at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Woods getting back into flow with extra rounds
Woods shot a 1-under 71 in the tournament’s third round after waiting all day Friday to make the cut. He had a 4-over 76 in the second round after dealing with a stiff back during warm-ups. He made it when the cut dropped to 3 over.
“Well, I think that getting back into the flow and competing again and playing at this level, I hadn’t done that in a while. Playing at home and playing out here is so very different,” Woods said, via Golfweek. “And making sure that I stay sharp and don’t make any silly mistakes and dump the ball in the wrong spots or give myself bad angles, that’s one of the things about playing competitive golf that’s very different from playing at home.
“I was fortunate the cut came back.”
It would have been the first time in 18 appearances at the Memorial that Woods, who shot a 71 in the first round, missed the cut. He’s a five-time winner at the tournament.
Woods is making his first tournament appearance since February. He needed the extra rounds to sharpen his game with the PGA Championship coming up in San Francisco in three weeks.
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The 3M and the FedEx St. Jude Invitational are in between the Memorial and PGA Championship, but Woods rarely plays three consecutive tournaments and avoids playing the week before a major.
Woods testing back ahead of rest of schedule
Woods has been plagued by back injuries following surgery and addressed them on Friday, where he said he struggled and couldn’t move as well. He was more loose on Saturday and overall his body language was good.
“I was moving better today and felt like I did the first day, and consequently, I could make the passes at the golf ball like I did the first day,” Woods said, via Golfweek. “Unfortunately, I didn’t make any putts today, so hopefully, I can make a few more tomorrow.”
The PGA Tour schedule is packed to end the 2020 calendar year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced postponements.
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