Tiger Woods confessed he ‘was a couple of pounds lighter’ despite the burden of a mediocre four rounds at the 2015 Players Championship.
The double Players champion posted a level par 72 to complete 16th TPC Sawgrass appearance in three over par and a then clubhouse share of 69th.
It is Woods poorest Players result after having won the event in 2013 when he last teed-up in the prestigious PGA Tour event.
Woods commenced his round at three under par and remained at three under through nine holes with a birdie at three but a bogey at the seventh.
The 14-time Major winner then showed glimpses of brilliance with three birdies in succession from the 10th when he holed putts of four feet at the 10th, two-putted from 37-foot at the next for birdie and then two-putted the par five 13th for birdie to move back to level par for a first time since starting his third round.
A perspiration dripping Tiger Woods soaks up some mediocre golf.
However Woods then posted a horror triple-bogey ‘7’ at the 14th when he drove into water left off the tee and played a third for a first time since starting his third round.
Woods then posted a horror triple-bogey ‘7’ at the 14th when he drove into water left off the tee and played a third from the front of the teeing-off area. He was then in rough 60-feet short of the green in four from where he took a further three shots to get down.
It was his first triple bogey on the TPC Sawgrass course in 63 rounds of the Players.
He then birdied the 16th but the double Players Championship winner had the crowd again scattering with a wild drive down the right side at the last and while he managed to find his way onto the green in three, Woods just missed a 16-footer that would have given him a round of 71.
ESPN’s Bob Harrig then asked Woods to assess the four days and he first replied: “I am about a couple of pounds lighter (smiling).
“No, it was mixed bag and pretty much all week. A lot of really, really good stuff out there, some mediocre and some bad. I had, what did I have? Three 7s on the week and that is not very good.”
A check of the PGA Tour stats showed Woods hit exactly half of the 56 fairways over the four rounds but then remarked to your author that he was pleased with his driver even though the driver is fully in use on this Pete Dye designed course.
“I would say that for the majority of the week, I hit my driver a lot better and definitely a lot further than I had been hitting it.
“I just wasn’t as sharp with my irons.
“Normally I’m a pretty good iron player and I can get the ball in there tight. And I had a lot of clubs where I was 8-iron on down and I didn’t stiff them. That’s something I got to do a little bit better on.”
