Tiger Woods stared down a seven-footer for birdie at the par-4 10th hole on Monday to get within two shots of the lead. He raced the putt past the edge of the cup and tapped in for a disappointing par. It was as close as Woods would get to the lead during the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship. On a day where scores plummeted into the low- and mid-60s, Woods started strong but made late miscues en route to a final-round even-par 71.
On a day when Hideki Matsuyama shot 65, Dustin Johnson 64 and Phil Mickelson 63, making pars meant going backwards, and despite hitting plenty of fairways and greens – 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens – Woods took 33 putts to get around TPC Boston. A late bogey followed by a deflating double left a sour taste in Woods’s mouth despite a solid week. Woods declined to speak with media after the round.
The 14-time major champion, who started the day six shots off the lead, got his day off to a promising start with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 2nd. He hit a nifty pitch shot to three feet at the short par-4 4th and converted to get to nine under for the tournament.
.@TigerWoods is making his presence felt.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/RlKLn2CFbD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 3, 2018
Woods kept hitting fairways and greens, but had a hard time getting close to any pins and settled for a string of two-putt pars. He had to work even harder at the par-5 7th; after a poor drive and a mediocre pitch Woods was left with a 10-footer for his par. He poured it in, pumping his fist as the ball dropped.
After close calls at 9 and 10, Woods canned an 11-footer for birdie at the par-3 11th. It was the last highlight of his day.
Birdie at 11 for @TigerWoods.
He’s three shots back.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/IJkxRhCKVh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 3, 2018
At No. 14, Woods needed three putts from the front fringe and settled for bogey. He just missed for birdie at 15 and then found the water short and left of the pin at the par-3 16th with an eight-iron. After a drop, a wedge and two putts, Woods walked off the hole at seven under, right where he began the day.
One last lip-out at No. 18 cemented Woods’s final-round 71. As he slipped backwards, leader Bryson DeChambeau got to 16-under, extending his lead as Woods sat at the edge of the top 25. Woods and DeChambeau had played together on Saturday. But it was the 24-year-old rather than the living legend who had made the weekend charge. Woods will now need a strong performance next week at Aronimink to ensure his place in the Tour Championship at East Lake.
