Tiger improves to 5-under in Round 3 at Emirates Golf Club
Two-time winner Tiger Woods shot a 2-under-par 70 on Saturday in Round 3 of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates. He has a 54-hole score of 5-under 211 and is tied for 37th place.
After two tough days of ball-striking, Tiger improved by hitting 13 of 18 greens in regulation. However, he hit only 7 of 14 fairways and used 29 putts, including a three-putt par at the final hole.
“I wasted a lot of opportunities out there today,” Woods said afterward.
An early starter with Mikko IIonen, Tiger got off to a shaky start at the par-4 first, where he drove into the right rough, hit his second shot over the green, then chipped in for a par. At the short par-4 second, Woods drove into a front bunker, blasted to 12 feet and two-putted for a par.
Tiger, playing in his second tournament of 2014, made a mess of the par-5 third hole. Following a good drive, he blocked his second shot into the desert on the right, came up short of the green with his third shot, pitched his fourth shot well past the pin and two-putted for a bogey.
At the par-3 fourth hole, Woods made a nice up-and-down from the back bunker for a par. Tiger made another up-and-down par save at the par-4 fifth, where he came up short of the green with his second shot.
Woods recorded his first birdie of the day at the par-4 sixth, where he hit a nice tee shot and knocked his approach shot five feet from the pin. Tiger burned the hole with a birdie putt at the par-4 seventh, but followed with a birdie at the par-4 eighth.
However, Tiger dropped a shot at the par-4 ninth, where he hit his second shot over the green, chipped 15 feet past the cup and was unable to convert. As a result, he made the turn in even-par-35.
Looking for better things on the back nine, Woods made a scrambling birdie at the par-5 10th. After driving into the desert on the right, he hit his second shot in the front bunker, splashed to five feet and then made the birdie putt.
After a par at No. 12, Tiger hit a nice approach shot from the left rough at the par-4 12th and rolled in another birdie from about five feet. He followed with five consecutive pars, missing a short birdie putt at the drivable par-4 17th.
At the par-5 18th, Woods found the fairway and hit a terrific second shot, the ball finishing about 25 feet from the hole. But he ran his eagle putt six feet past the hole and missed his birdie attempt, settling for a frustrating par.
Tiger will tee off in Round 4 from the par-4 first hole with playing partner Pablo Larrazábal at 12:53 a.m. ET on Sunday.
