Tiger ties for sixth after final-round 74 at Muirfield
This one will sting for a while.
Tiger Woods was poised to make a run at his 15th major title but simply never got on track Sunday in the final round of the 142nd Open Championship at baked-out Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland.
The top-ranked Woods entered the final round tied for second, two shots behind leader Lee Westwood. But Tiger bogeyed three of the first six holes and never challenged, closing with a 3-over-par 74.
Tiger tied for sixth at 2-over-par 286, five strokes behind winner Phil Mickelson, who matched the week’s best score with a final-round 66.
After putting on slick greens early in the tournament, a composed but frustrated Woods said they got progressively slower and he had a hard time adjusting.
“They were much slower, much softer,” Tiger said. “I don’t think I got too many putts to the hole. I really had a hard time and left myself a couple of long lag putts early on when it was really blowing and left them way short and didn’t make those putts. I really didn’t play that poorly.”
Paired with Adam Scott in the second-to-last-group, Woods didn’t get the start he wanted, making a bogey on the 447-yard, par-4 first hole for the second time in the tournament. A poor second shot left him 90 feet short of the pin and he three-putted.
Tiger steadied with a pair of pars, then bogeyed the testy 226-yard, par-3 fourth hole for the third consecutive day. Following a par at No. 5, Tiger made another bogey at the 461-yard, par-4 sixth, where he drove into the left fairway bunker, blasted out into the fairway and wound up missing a 30-foot par putt.
After a two-putt par at the par-3 seventh hole, Woods hit a good drive and a beautiful approach shot from 190 yards to the 441-yard, par-4 eighth, the ball stopping eight feet right of the hole. But Tiger was unable to capitalize, lipping out his birdie attempt.
Woods did birdie the 554-yard, par-5 ninth hole, to make the turn in 2-over 38. But he needed a big back nine to make a charge and it didn’t happen.
Instead, Tiger bogeyed the par-4 10th and 11th holes to essentially fall from contention. He tried to rally with birdies at the par-4 12th and 14th holes, but sustained another bogey at the par-4 15th. Woods closed with three straight pars.
Tiger’s last major title came at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He has given himself many good chances since then, as Sunday’s showing marked the eighth time he has finished in the top six in a major. His problem has been weekend scoring: Woods is a combined 26-over-par in weekend play in his last seven majors.
Tiger will look to turn that around Aug. 8-11 in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., in the year’s final major.
“I’ve won some tournaments in that stretch and I’ve been in probably about half the majors on the back nine Sunday with a chance to win during that stretch,” Woods said. “I just haven’t done it yet. Hopefully it will be in a few weeks.”
Tiger, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, said he will leave Scotland with many positives, especially since he hadn’t competed for nearly a month while resting and receiving treatment for a left elbow strain.
“I’m very pleased with the way I’m playing, there’s no doubt,” Woods said. “I’m right there. I hit a ton of good shots this week.”
