LOS ANGELES -- When Tiger Woods hit a deft bunker shot that trickled ever so slowly into the cup for a birdie on his seventh hole of the final round, he had moved into the top five at the Genesis Open with momentum on his side.
And just like that, it stalled.
The effects of a long week, with cold, blustery conditions and delays due to bad weather and darkness finally caught up to him, Woods said, leading to a lackluster finish and a tie for 15th at Riviera Country Club -- where he has now not won in 12 tries.
After getting to 3 under for his round through seven holes and to 10 under for the tournament, Woods could not manage another birdie the rest of the way, playing his last 11 holes in 4 over par and settling for a 1-over-par 72.
"I got tired; there's no doubt,'' Woods said. "It was just a long week, and eventually I made a few bad swings. But to be honest with you, it was one of the worst weeks I've ever had on the greens. Six 3-putts is -- I don't think I've ever done that. And to have that many 3-putts and still shoot 6 under par -- take away those 3-putts, I'm 12 under par. And if I make a few more putts, I'm right in the mix.
"So I just have to clean up my mess on the greens and be ready for Thursday.''
Woods was referring to the start of the WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City, where it will presumably be considerably warmer than it was at Riviera the last few days.
The tournament got off to a rough start when a seven-hour rain delay on Thursday put the event off schedule for the rest of the weekend. Woods never hit a shot on Thursday, which meant long days throughout the weekend.
Woods, the tournament host for the Genesis Open, played 30 holes on Friday, 14 on Saturday as the second round was completed and then -- hours later -- the third round started. And then 28 holes Sunday to finish the third round and play the final 18 holes.
He did get on a roll during a 27-hole stretch of the third round and the first nine holes of the fourth, playing them in 9 under par to climb the leaderboard, before falling back.
Afterward, Woods, 43, understandably looked like a guy who was worn out. He walked gingerly, and made no secret he was looking forward to not swinging a golf club on Monday.
"I wish the weather had been a lot warmer,'' he said. "It was a long week. Early, early mornings. We were warming up before the sun came up and finishing up when the sun was down. Long days for a lot of guys.
"I'm excited about tomorrow,'' he said. "Because the clubs aren't coming out of the travel bag. They are staying in there; they're not moving. It's a matter of recovering, and treatment, and getting ready for Thursday.''
Woods does have some positives to dwell on. He appeared headed for a missed cut on Saturday morning, birdied his last hole, ended up making it by one and then went on a run that gave him a respectable tournament.
Last year, Woods missed the cut at Riviera, and now he is about to embark on a stretch during which he should be able to find some form, first at the limited-field Mexico event and then likely at places such as Bay Hill and the Players Championship, where he has had success.
For the week, Woods hit 36 of 56 fairways and ranked 12th in strokes gained off the tee. He also hit 51 of 72 greens, highlighted by 17 in the first round and 14 in the third round. His total putts of 117 was not terrible, and he did have three rounds in which he had less than 30 per round. But as Woods noted, six 3-putts is not going to get it done.
"I'm happy that it's over, yes,'' Woods said. "Somehow we got 72 holes in.''