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Woods struggles again, concedes No. 1 ranking
Associated Press
AKRON
Tiger Woods logged another miserable round and then all but conceded the No. 1 spot in the world to Phil Mickelson.
In the third round of the Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday, Woods had five bogeys, a double-bogey and two birdies in a 5-over 75. He is 11 over — his worst score in relation to par through 54 holes since turning professional in 1996.
Woods, whose personal life has been in tatters since revelations of infidelity last November, has been the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world for more than five years. But Mickelson can overtake him with a high finish — something that Woods fully expects.
“Well, if Phil plays the way he’s supposed to this weekend, then he’ll be No. 1,” Woods said after completing third-round play at Firestone Country Club.
Mickelson shot a 71 to fall into a tie for 10th. He needs to finish at least in fourth place alone to become No. 1.
A week before the PGA Championship and with six weeks left to the Ryder Cup, Woods’ game is in shambles.
He actually drove the ball slightly better on Saturday, hitting half of the 14 fairways, but showed no consistency.
He was 1 over through six holes, but then jerked an iron far to the left of the green and into a large bunker next to the par-3 seventh.
“Great swing!” he yelled at himself on the tee.
Woods then blasted out of the sand to 25 feet above the hole and missed the par putt.
On the eighth hole, he hit his drive into the right rough, advanced it farther along in the high grass to the right, and then miss-hit a chip shot that came up short of the green. He hurried to the ball and quickly hit another chip that ran 6 feet past the hole, then missed that putt, settling for a double-bogey.
“Well, I drove it terrible, hit my irons terrible, didn’t putt well, and it added up to a lot,” Woods said later.
The 75 was his worst third-round score in relation to par since the 2002 British Open, where he shot 81.
After completing his round, he returned to the driving range. At that time, he was 18 shots off the lead and in 78th place, ahead of only two other players in the 80-man field.
He has never been worse than a tie for 71st through 54 holes since turning pro.
He took off two weeks after tying for 23rd at the British Open, and hoped to use the Bridgestone as a tuneup for next week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.