Tiger Woods: Instant Reaction to Tiger's PGA Championship Performance

If there was anyone on the course at Kiawah Island who needed a mulligan Saturday, it was Tiger Woods.

While the mulligan never materialized, maybe the second-best thing that could have happened was when weather suspended play for the third round of the PGA Championship and the world’s second-ranked golfer. After coming into the afternoon with a portion of the lead with Vijay Singh, Woods looked average at best, giving back three strokes over his first seven holes, with bogeys carded on holes four, five and seven.

It was a stark contrast from Friday, when it seemed Woods was able to rise above the elements and charge to the lead.

Saturday morning gave Woods some momentum heading into the final round in the afternoon.

But in the end, no one was going to catch Rory McIlroy, who seemed in control of the entire round, even with the charge of Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Blake Adams.

To say Woods, who finished two-under for the tournament, was never a factor would be unfair to the four-time PGA Championship and 14-time major title owner. But in the major events this year, it seemed Woods came out and attacked the course at all four events, only to be attacked by the course, the elements or both in the end.

But Sunday was truly about the other golfer on the Island course who was fist pumping and wearing a red shirt being better.

There was nothing really dominant about anything Woods did on the course, earning birdies on the second and seventh holes to get to five-under for the tournament, but bogeys on the par-five 11th and then on the par-five 16th  basically conceded the tournament to the 23-year-old Northern Ireland native.

It now marks four years since Woods has won a major tournament.

Before the start of the final round, Woods said on TBS (via ESPN.com) that he was pleased with his final few holes of the third round, which gave him momentum heading into the afternoon.

“I got back in it,” Woods said of the morning round. “I’ve got a shot this afternoon.”

Maybe McIlroy read the memo, because after 14 holes, the former U.S. Open Champion posted a four-under and was on cruise control to his second major title.

While he came out of the gate on Thursday and led going into the weekend, Woods continued to show progress in his game and his personality, even cracking a smile during the early part of the round on Friday, when he seemed more relaxed and his driving and putting looked like the Woods who had claimed four PGA titles and was seeking his 15th major win.

But as the winds picked up and the weather became a factor on Saturday, his game faltered.

And when he came out on Sunday morning, it looked like things were going to get worse, as he immediately gave two strokes back, but with three birdies and one bogey on the final six holes in the third round, he gave us all some hope that he could challenge in the afternoon.

It wasn’t a matter of him not being able to recover, as the tournament was about McIlroy taking his game to a level higher than anyone else on the course.