PGA Championship: Tiger Woods's front nine was the stuff of mad genius
Tiger Woods is really enjoying his golf again.
Through nine holes of his final round at the PGA Championship, the 14-time major winner hadn't found a fairway.
Yet, as he walked onto the tenth tee, he was somehow -3 on the round, -10 overall and right in the mix as he chased his first major championship in ten years.
The 42-year-old sprayed his drives right, he hooked them left. He hit them basically everywhere but down the middle. However, every time it looked as though things were getting messy for him, he conjured up some miraculous powers of recovery to keep his major dreams alive.
His approach at two was unerring.
Tiger had it on a string. 🐦🐅#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/fThjm1oHLQ
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
He missed the fairway at four, chipped back out to the fairway and pitched up to within eight feet, leaving him a crucial par putt. Just like the Woods of old, he poured it right in.
Tiger rolls one back towards the hole for the clutch par save. 🐅#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/x25F3iCUEK
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
Tiger Watch. 🐅👀
#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/v2OYX54Mcs— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
He then showed some tasty bunker skills to record another birdie at the eighth.
Tiger gets out of trouble and finds a birdie to get back to 10-under. 🐦#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/eXmIO32g6k
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
But what happened on the ninth was just beyond belief. Hooking another drive deep into the gallery on the left, the four-time PGA champion produced an unbelievable approach to set up an unlikely birdie.
Suffice to say, the crowd got a little bit excited.
Tiger finds a way. 😮#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/7SXw26F8nM
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
Did he sink the putt? Obviously. And, yes, the fist pumps were out.
Fist pumps are out. 👀🐦#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/G3o4ECMHIz
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
Yep. Just a cool 31 on the front nine without hitting a single fairway. Woods is one of the finest players of all time but, for all his genius, he's always been a fairly terrible driver of the ball. Wildly inaccurate, he's often relied on his recovery skills and clutch putting to make his scores, which is exactly what he's doing at Bellerive. And it's brilliant to watch.
32 on the front 9 without hitting a fairway.@TigerWoods, ladies and gentlemen. 🐅 #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/jIb6qLIdhi
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2018
