Tiger Woods: Keys to Former No. 1 Winning 5th Memorial

Tiger Woods is four strokes back entering the final round of play at the Memorial, but that is certainly something he can overcome. 

In fact, it is something he has overcome at this very course in the same tournament. In 2009, Tiger was four shots off the lead here and went on to capture the win after shooting a seven-under on Sunday. 

Even though he shot a one-over on Saturday, he can post a similar seven-under round this year, and it won't take a huge shift in his play to pull that off. 

Woods struggled with his short game on Saturday. He wasn't that far off; it was just one of those "it's a game of inches" days. If those inches start breaking his way, the rest of the field is in trouble. Tiger is striking the ball fantastically. 

He is the tournament leader in driving accuracy and greens in regulation. So, with all of this in mind, let's take a look at a few Sunday keys for Mr. Woods. 

Work the Flat Blade 

This is a key to everyone's round everywhere, but it is still worth mentioning given Tiger's struggles putting on Saturday, and there is every reason to think he will do just that.

He totaled 32 putts on Saturday. However, as I mentioned above, he was not that far off. Tiger lipped a few out or narrowly missed them. 

The real key in this was not how he missed the putts, but why. He was not mishitting these efforts, but misreading them, and he wasn't alone. Players were struggling all day with the pace of the greens as the course dried out. 

This left many putts running by the hole and breaking far differently than anticipated. These guys, Tiger included, will be better prepared for these greens on Sunday. 

Own the Par 5s

Almost every time Tiger wins a tournament, his success can be traced back to dominance on the par 5s.

He has been solid on the par 5s in this tournament, but will need results like he got on the first day to win this thing.

Tiger was three under in Round 1 and just two under the next two rounds on the par 5s. With a four-shot deficit, he can't let these holes slide by without making up some ground.  

Avoid Having a Bad Hole

Tiger had a double bogey in each of the first two rounds. He cannot afford a double on Sunday. If he is going to make up this deficit, he is going to have to do so only when he has a good shot at attacking the greens. 

Tiger is driving the ball well enough that he will have plenty of opportunities to do just that. When he does smack an errant drive, he must take his medicine, go for the smart play and realize that he can't afford to waste a shot being overly aggressive.