Tiger cards 72 to finish the Memorial at 8-over

Tiger Woods closed with an even-par 72 on Sunday in the final round of the Memorial Tournament at warm and cloudy Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Aside from one hole, he played mostly solid golf in his final competitive round before the upcoming U.S. Open.

Woods finished at 8-over 296 and tied for 65th, 20 strokes behind winner Matt Kuchar. It was the second-highest 72-hole score of his pro career; he shot 298 in the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

“Just one of those weeks,” said Woods, who came into the event having won three of his last four starts and having played 15 of his previous 16 rounds under par.

An early back-nine starter with Marc Leishman and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Woods missed a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-4 10th hole. Tiger two-putted the par-5 11th from 40 feet for a par.

The par-3 12th, which played the toughest all week, hurt Tiger once again. Woods pulled his tee shot on the 186-yard, downhill hole into the back-left bunker and was left with a terrible stance. Only able to put one foot in the sand, he couldn’t extricate himself from the bunker, advancing the ball about six feet. From there, Tiger blasted long, just into the fringe, then three-putted for a triple-bogey six.

After a two-putt par at No. 13, Woods bogeyed the short par-4 14th. Following a good drive, his approach missed the green to the right, and he left his pitch shot five feet short of the cup. Tiger couldn’t convert and sustained a bogey.

Woods moved to the 529-yard, uphill, par-5 15th, a hole that had given him fits in the previous three rounds — he recorded a bogey and two double bogeys. Tiger’s drive caught the trees on the right, but he was able to hit a good lay-up shot. He hit a beautiful approach to 4 1/2 feet behind the pin and made the birdie putt.

Following a two-putt par from 38 feet at the par-3 16th, Woods hit a nice approach shot at the 478-yard, par-4 17th, the ball stopping nine feet from the hole. Tiger rolled it in for his second birdie in two holes.

Woods also gained a measure of revenge on the 444-yard, par-4 18th hole, which he triple-bogeyed on Saturday. This time, he hit a good drive and knocked his approach shot 24 feet right of the hole. He two-putted for a par to make the turn in 2-over 38.

Tiger found his rhythm on the second nine and could have posted a low number if a few more putts had dropped.

After a nice par save at the par-4 first hole, he produced his third birdie of the day at the 455-yard, par-4 second. He hit a good drive down the fairway and knocked his second shot from 160 yards to just inside nine feet and poured in the putt.

Woods missed the green long with his approach shot to the par-4 third, then chipped to six feet and two-putted for a bogey. He bounced right back with a wonderful tee shot at the 200-yard, par-3 fourth hole and drilled in a 14-foot birdie putt.

At the par-5 fifth, Tiger hit a good drive. From 259 yards out, Woods hit his second shot pin-high, just right of the green. He hit a nice sand wedge four feet from the cup and birdied the hole for the third time in four days.

Tiger made a nice up-and-down save for par from the front greenside bunker at the par-4 sixth hole. At the 563-yard, par-5 seventh, he hit a 310-yard drive in the fairway and flushed his second shot from 244 yards just over the back of the green, 50 feet from pin. Woods hit his third shot seven feet from the flag, but was unable to capitalize.

He hit a well-struck 8-iron 10 feet below the cup at the 185-yard, par-3 eighth hole, but just missed his birdie attempt. At the par-4 ninth, he hit a good drive, then came up 29 feet short of the cup with his approach from 154 yards and two-putted for a par. Still, he played the side in 2-under and was 4-under for his last 13 holes.

“It happens to all of us,” said the top-ranked Woods of his poor play. “I obviously didn’t putt very well. I had some funky stances. It just happened to be one of those weeks.”

The U.S. Open will be played June 13-16 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Asked what he will work on in Florida next week, Tiger replied, “Everything. You want everything clicking on all cylinders, especially at the U.S. Open, because everything is tested in the U.S. Open.”