Tiger struggles for consistency at the Memorial

Still trying to get comfortable with swing changes, Tiger Woods shot a 13-over 85 on Saturday in the third round of the 40th Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. It was his highest score in a PGA Tour event.

Struggling in all phases of his game, even his putting, which carried him the first two rounds, Woods hit 7 of 14 fairways, 9 of 18 greens, hit four balls into the water and missed three putts inside five feet.

A frustrated Woods declined to speak to reporters afterward.

“He’s just kind of working through some things,” said rookie Zac Blair, his playing partner. “Obviously it takes some time to work through swing changes and stuff like that.”

An early starter on an overcast day, Tiger parred the first three holes. But he sustained back-to-back bogeys at the par-3 fourth and par-5 fifth holes, missing a short putt at the fourth and three-putting the fifth.

Woods steadied with pars at the sixth and seventh holes but double-bogeyed the par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth. At the eighth, he short-sided himself in a green-side bunker, then bladed his second shot over the green. At the ninth, he knocked his approach shot in the water and made the turn in 42.

Tiger parred the 10th hole, then made consecutive bogeys at the par-5 11th and par-3 12th. At the 11th, he went for the green in two and came up short in a creek.

Following a par at 13, Woods flew the green with his approach at the par-4 14th and made a bogey. He recorded his lone birdie at the par-5 15th, where he found the middle of the green with an iron on his second shot and two-putted.

After a two-putt par at 16, Tiger bogeyed the par-4 17th when his second shot hit a tree and caromed into the hazard. Then the long day ended poorly at the par-4 18th. Woods pulled his drive into the hazard on the left, came up short of the green with his approach shot, and saw his chip roll back to his feet. He then hit a flop shot into a bunker and left his first shot from there in the sand before blasting out and two-putting for a quadruple-bogey eight.

He now stands in last place and will likely be first off by himself Sunday morning because an odd number of players made the cut.