Tiger Woods said he wanted to go low on the weekend at the PGA Championship. It became clear very quickly during Saturday's third round that wasn't happening. Instead, Woods, in cold, windy, rainy conditions, had the worst round of his career at this major championship, posting 9-over 79.
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During one stretch, he made five consecutive bogeys, something he had never done in a major championship as a professional. His walk was, again, labored, and his game was reminiscent of when he limped his way around two bad rounds on the weekend at last month's Masters.
Here's how Woods' brutal day at Southern Hills went down:
No. 1: Par 4, 451 yards
He opened his day with a perfect drive. It went downhill from there. From an awkward lie, Woods missed the green short. Then he hit a bad, bad first putt from off the green, leaving it 15 feet short. But, like he did over the back nine on Friday to make the cut, Woods grinded out a par.
Tiger starts his weekend in Southern Hills.@TigerWoods | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/wE4yT9iXjK
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
Score: Par
Total for the day: Even
Where he stands for the tournament: 3 over
No. 2: Par 4, 480 yards
Woods stared at his tee ball for a long time while it was in the air at the second. That is never a good sign. It went in the water. A strong iron after the penalty drop saved things from getting worse.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 4 over
No. 3: Par 4, 444 yards
Woods went with another high cut off the tee. That has been his move all week. Aside from the misjudged wind at the second that resulted in a water ball, it has worked. From there he converted an easy par.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 4 over
No. 4: Par 4, 377 yards
Another picture-perfect tee shot. Followed by a perfectly controlled, one-skip-and-stop wedge. But for one of the few times this week, Woods' putter failed him. He lipped out the birdie putt from 6 feet. But how strange is golf? His playing partner, Shaun Norris, hit his tee shot in the hazard, but opted to play it from there instead of taking a penalty drop. With an impossible lie, Norris somehow got the ball onto the back of three green. Then, of course, he rolled in a 50-footer for birdie.
What a birdie sequence by Shaun Norris!#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/B4sNIKR19t
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 4 over
No. 5: Par 5, 656 yards
A poor drive required an escape-artist recovery from the trees. And Woods did just that, with a low, slinging hook out of the trees. Back in the fairway, facing a much easier shot than the one he just hit, Woods hit a so-so iron that ended any chance for birdie.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 1 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 4 over
No. 6: Par 3, 226 yards
Well, that was a mess. Woods came up 30 yards short on the par-3, and the ball found the water. Things didn't get better. From the drop zone, Woods hit a shaky wedge that did not reach the green. His green-side chip didn't find the putting surface. The sixth is not an easy hole, but Woods certainly didn't think he'd be walking away with a 6.
Score: Triple bogey
Total for the day: 4 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 7 over
No. 7: Par 4, 443 yards
A poor tee shot put Woods back in scramble mode. The rough was too deep, the lie was too bad for him to go for the green. He laid up. Hit a good pitch shot, but a not-so-good putt. So he followed the triple at the sixth with another dropped shot at the seventh.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 5 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 8 over
No. 8: Par 3, 220 yards
Woods hit another weak iron that settled miles from the pin. He did, though, hit a tremendous putt from 60 feet, one that almost found a way in for an unlikely birdie. But given how things had gone the previous few holes, a par was just fine.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 5 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 8 over
No. 9: Par 4, 395 yards
An ugly day got worse at the ninth. His driver, which had been so solid for so long at this PGA Championship, began to fail him. He found a bunker off the tee. In the sand, he failed to get out, instead firing a ball into the face of the fairway trap, a noticeable grimace as soon as he made impact. Fortunately for him, the ball embedded in grass instead of the bunker, which permitted Woods a free drop. Still, after it was all done, it was another rough hole to close out a 6-over 41 on the front side.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 6 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 9 over
No. 10: Par 4, 376 yards
Another missed fairway. The rough was so thick and wet, Woods could not even come close to reaching the green even though he had just 163 yards left. That was the eighth green he missed in 10 holes. Another dropped shot.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 7 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 10 over
No. 11: Par 3, 173 yards
Another woefully short iron shot. Then a horrible pitch that went over the green. Woods is struggling and, at this point, just wants to get to the clubhouse.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 8 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 11 over
No. 12: Par 4, 461 yards
Woods just smiled when his second shot landed in the bunker. Really, on a day like this, what else could he do?
Tiger Woods has hit at least 6 greens in regulation in every major round since 2003 (over 200 rounds of golf in that span).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 21, 2022
He's 2-for-12 so far today. pic.twitter.com/Lz2AbndfZC
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 9 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 12 over
No. 13: Par 5, 632 yards
Woods bladed another chip shot. Clearly, his body is not allowing him to get down on the ball on the short shots. A rare chance at a birdie turned into another bogey.
Score: Bogey
Total for the day: 10 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 13 over
No. 14: Par 3, 230 yards
Finally, a par. It didn't come easily; Woods made a 6-footer to avoid a three-putt bogey. But it was his first par since the eighth hole.
Tiger Woods is currently 10-over thru 14 holes of the PGA Championship's third round.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 21, 2022
Woods' highest scores in 88 prior major championship starts:
81 (R3, 2002 Open Championship)
80 (R1, 2015 U.S. Open)
Score: Par
Total for the day: 10 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 13 over
No. 15: Par 4, 417 yards
At last, something good happened for Woods. He rolled in a 35-footer for birdie. Why does it matter, beyond the fact that it was his first birdie of the round and gave him a reason to smile without it being a sarcastic smile? It moved him to 9 over, meaning breaking 80 for his round is back in play.
Score: Birdie
Total for the day: 9 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 12 over
No. 16: Par 4, 522 yards
Woods had 233 yards for his second shot ... into a par-4. He looked back at caddie Joe LaCava when LaCava gave him the yardage. He was in disbelief. Still, Woods hit the green and got himself a par.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 9 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 12 over
No. 17: Par 4, 371 yards
A chance for another birdie vanished thanks to another poor bunker shot. Woods hit his tee ball at the drivable par-4 into the greenside trap, but then blasted his approach 20 feet long and off the green. A par on 18 and he will avoid shooting 80.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 9 over
Where he stands for the tournament: 12 over
No. 18: Par 4, 491 yards
Woods was 10 over through 13 holes. A score in the 80s seemed inevitable. But Woods doesn't give up, and he played his final five holes in 1 under to avoid his third round in the 80s as a professional. Still, his third-round 79 was the worst score he has ever posted at the PGA Championship.
Score: Par
Total for the day: 9-over 79
Where he stands for the tournament: 12 over