Tiger Woods made strides toward possibly qualifying for the Tour Championship with a five-under 67 in the third round of the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, on Saturday.
After carding matching rounds of one-under 71 on Thursday and Friday, Tiger was locked in during the next round, and he finished his day in a tie for 26th place at seven under, five strokes behind leader Hideki Matsuyama.
Woods is projected to require a finish of 11th or better to be one of the 30 golfers contained at the Tour Championship field. Tiger ended a long drought by winning his third career Tour Championship this past year.
The reigning Masters’ winner traded birdies and bogeys with regularity in the first and second rounds of the BMW Championship, but he played a much cleaner third round with five birdies and no bogeys.
Woods’ first birdie of the day came on the par-four fourth after he stuck his approach shot within nine feet and browsed the green perfectly:
Here come the roars. @TigerWoods with his first birdie of the day.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/6YdqTJSCNa
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 17, 2019
His next and final birdie on the front nine came on the par-five seventh, as he reached the green in 2 shots and put himself up for a simple four:
292 yards ➡️ 16 feet @TigerWoods is locked in @BMWchamps.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/BVHgRGtBZZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 17, 2019
Tiger did a lot of his damage on the back nine, starting with a birdie on the par-five 10th. The round was delayed for about an hour soon after that due to inclement weather, but it did little to slow down the 43-year-old veteran.
Woods continued his domination of Medinah’s par-fives when he birdied No. 14 after nestling his third shot in the striking distance:
Four birdies. No bogeys.
A clean card for @TigerWoods as he heads to the 15th @BMWchamps.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/5CnOUwX2Bh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 17, 2019
Tiger’s excellent putting continued on the par-four 16th when he pumped one house from 25 feet away to move to five-under on the day and seven under for the championship:
Considering how much he struggled at times Thursday and Friday, and the fact he had been forced to withdraw from the Northern Trust a week with an oblique injury, Woods’ performance Saturday was reassuring.
Five birdies today.@TigerWoods is trying to book a return trip to the @playofffinale. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/e8N913oysN
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 17, 2019
He may want to equivalent or better Saturday’s showing in the last round of the BMW Championship to crack the top 11, but now that he has momentum on his side, it feels like a much more realistic possibility.
That’s a Saturday 67 for Tiger Woods.
5 birdies
0 bogeys
10/14 FIR
12/18 GIR
6/6 scrambling
27 putts7 under for the week. To the podium …
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 17, 2019
