Tiger Woods’ 2-foot putt went right in the hole.
None of his other shots on the 17th hole at Olympia Fields Country Club went right at all.
Woods triple-bogeyed the 459-yard par-4 on Saturday during the third round of the BMW Championship. He had been 1-under. He finished with a 2-over 73. He had been 7-over for the tournament, and, with the leader somewhere around even-par, he had been close to contention. He finished 10-over and far from it. He had been working toward a spot in the Tour Championship next week. He will begin working toward the U.S. Open in three weeks.
Woods didn’t speak to the media afterward. The 17th hole spoke for him.
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His drive went right. And right into a penalty area. Woods dropped. He hit his third shot, an iron, left. And right into thick grass. On the adjacent 18th hole. Woods lowered his head. He hit his fourth shot, a pitch, under trees but over the green. He hit his fifth shot on, then missed a 5-footer for double bogey. Woods tripled.
Before 17, Woods had been playing well. He birdied the 2nd after a 10-foot putt. He birdied the 3rd after knocking his approach to within about 3 feet. He got up-and-down on the par-4 12th after hitting his drive in the rough and his approach into a bunker.
Before the tournament, Woods was 57th in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 30 make next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Woods needed somewhere around a top five finish to move up.
After 17, he’s likely finished. After the tournament, he’ll start preparing for the Sept. 17-20 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
“I have to earn my way to East Lake,” Woods said before this week’s tournament. “I haven’t done so yet and need a big week this week in order to advance. If I don’t, then I go home.”