Tiger Woods looks to “steal one” at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Tiger Woods remains in contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but coming from several shots back, it’ll be a tough road on Sunday.
There were two tournaments played at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday. There was the one with Tiger Woods, clawing at the leaderboard, struggling to get and maintain momentum. And there was the one with everybody else, led at the start by Henrik Stenson and Byrson DeChambeau.
Woods was trying to find more accuracy with his shots, wanted to birdie the par fives and needed to avoid bogeys. He was only partially successful. Just when we thought he might make a very serious run at catching the leaders, he left some opportunities on the table.
“Unfortunately, I made three bogeys today, but made three birdies right after that, so that’s positive,” he said to media after his round.
He birdied three of the four par 5s, which was progress.
How does he keep going forward after bad bounces or difficult lies or bogeys?
Never give in, he said.
“Just always trying to make the best possible score and dig it out on every single hole,” he added.
Woods was upbeat after his round, especially following the dramatic birdie putt at the 18th, noting that he was just four back at that moment and that it might go to six back, depending on what the leaders did coming in. After play, he’s five behind. Henrik Stenson is at 12-under.
"“I’m going to have to shoot a low one tomorrow and probably get a little bit of help. But my responsibility is to go out and shoot a low one first,” he explained. “I know I’m four back right now, but I’ll be five or six by the end of the day and maybe a low one tomorrow will give me a chance to kind of steal one from behind.”"
The course is getting drier and that makes it play shorter. While that’s a plus, the greens are getting crispy, which is a minus. Woods called them testy.
"“Balls are going forever out there on tee shots and then the greens are, they’re definitely bouncing a little bit and the putts, oh my gosh, they’re, I wouldn’t say quite like Honda, but you put the putter down, it does slip a little bit.”"
Tiger was more accurate off the tee on Saturday, with 64.29 percent driving accuracy, about seven points higher than either round one or two. His greens in regulation skyrocketed to 72.22 percent, 17 percent better than the second round and 11 percent better than the first. His longest drive was 323 yards. Putts per greens in regulation, at 1.615, were the lowest of the week.
Bottom line: Woods is trending in the right direction even if he does hit some less than perfect shots.
“I played well, scored well, it was a good day all around,” he summed up. “I really hit the ball solidly. I controlled it, and I hit a lot of beautiful putts. Some went in, some didn’t.”
Justin Rose, unfazed by playing beside Tiger, made a move up the leaderboard
Meanwhile the other member of his twosome, Justin Rose, avoided the high scoring fate that usually befalls those in Woods’ groupings. Rose was 3-under on the front and 2-under on the back to put himself within striking distance.
"“Really happy with that round,” he told members of the media afterward. “I kind of knew that when I was, when I made a couple birdies around 12 and 13, I was really playing myself into the tournament for tomorrow.”"
He interrupted his good play with bogey at the 15th but recovered with birdie at the 16th.
“Today was the first day in a while that I’ve really played well, hit every shot solid today, and took the range form to the course,” he added. “So hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow.”
The ruckus of playing with Woods didn’t faze him. He said it helped him focus more. He thinks it shows that people are into the Woods’ comeback.
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“I was definitely more nervous today. Sort of took me a hole or two to settle into my round a hundred percent,” he admitted, adding it was just because of the level of energy on the course.
It’s an atmosphere he likes, like majors and Ryder Cups.
As far as how he thinks Woods is doing, he thinks the short game is the best aspect right now.
“I think he’s playing very solidly, every shot comes off the club pretty square. And when he has missed greens he’s chipping really, really well. So that’s the part of his game that looks the sharpest to me,” Rose began.
"“But with Tiger you always just watch his focus, really, I think, that’s, for me, what he’s been able to block out through his career I think is the most impressive — and how he always makes the putt on 18. Those are like the little things, the intangibles. The rest of it is golf and golf swings and we can all do that part. So, yeah, just watching the mental side is always fun.”"
Next: Arnold Palmer's legacy lives on at Bay Hill
One thing is certain. On Sunday, finding out if Woods can make five shots on the leaders will be another Sunday of must see golf.