Tiger Woods at Hero World Challenge 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
Tiger Woods put together a bogey-free round of 65 on Friday at the Hero World Challenge, and he followed that clean performance by shooting two under during third-round play at Albany Golf & Beach Resort in New Providence, Bahamas, on Saturday.
Here's an overview of Woods' scorecard from Round 3:
| Par | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Round 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Overall | -7 | -8 | -9 | -9 | -10 | -9 | -10 | -10 | -10 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Round 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Overall | -10 | -11 | -11 | -10 | -9 | -9 | -9 | -10 | -8 |
As a result, the 40-year-old wrapped up moving day in the top 10 but well behind leader Hideki Matsuyama:
Woods started at six under following Friday's 65, and he figured to use that momentum as a springboard to continue his ascent up the leaderboard.
That's exactly what he did in the early going.
The 14-time major champion burst out of the gates with a birdie on No. 1, and he parlayed a strong tee shot on the par-three second into two birdies in as many holes, as Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker documented on Twitter:
Tiger's birdie train rolled on through No. 3, when his approach came up left of the green and he got up-and-down to move to nine under for the round, as the PGA Tour showed on Twitter:
Woods stabilized on the fourth with a par, and he appeared destined for another par or worse at the par-three fifth when his tee shot found the bunker. However, he channeled vintage form and, in improbable fashion, holed out to move to 10 under:
An even-par close to the front nine allowed Woods to hold steady at 10 under. Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker provided a comprehensive rundown of all the key numbers from his first nine holes:
A birdie on No. 11 lifted Woods to 11 under for the round and five under for the day, but he started to sputter midway through the back nine. A bogey on the par-four 13th represented the second blemish on his Round 3 scorecard. Another dropped shot on the next hole sent him tumbling back to nine under for the tournament.
With Woods' putter failing him a bit, ESPN.com's Jason Sobel wondered if his struggles had to do with an equipment change:
But even though Tiger's day ended in disappointing fashion following his scorching start, the third round represented another small step forward.
His comeback quest was never going to be quick and easy, and some rust figured to crop up even in a relaxed setting.
But considering he's safely in red numbers with his short game looking stronger than expected off the bat, Woods should be pleased with his performance through 54 holes.
Post-Round Reaction
"I'm so happy to be back out here competing again, fighting against these guys," Woods said, according to Golf Channel. It's been a tough road to come back here. I missed it."
The PGA Tour relayed video of Woods' complete post-round interview with Golf Channel:
"It's building," Woods said following the third round, per the Tiger Tracker. "Each day, I'm feeling stronger."
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