Tiger Woods' Memorial Championship Showing Won't Affect US Open Chances

The 2013 season has been a controversial season for Tiger Woods thus far, but it has also been a successful one. That is why his putrid performance in the third round of the Memorial Championship on Saturday came as a surprise, but it shouldn't hinder his ability to contend at the upcoming U.S. Open.

Woods opened the Memorial with a decent first-round 71, but he has scuffled over the past couple days with a 74 in the second round and an awful 79 in the third. The 79 was one of the worst scores of Woods' storied career and his front-nine 44 was his worst nine-hole score as a professional, according to SportsCenter.

With the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Penn. less than two weeks away, that type of showing might be cause for concern for most golfers. Woods isn't like most golfers, however, and it is highly unlikely that he will let his Memorial debacle discourage him.

Woods' play in the third round was so uncharacteristic that he might as well throw the result out the window and pretend like it never happened. Woods committed a number of rare errors on Saturday, including doubled bogeying the par-five 15th hole two days in a row, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Tiger simply doesn't double-bogey par fives, never mind doing it on the same hole on consecutive days. Past performance doesn't necessarily excuse Woods for falling apart in the third round, but his track record is long and successful enough to suggest that he won't let this happen again.

It's tough to identify a reason for Woods' issues on Saturday as he entered the tournament as the defending Memorial champion, but even the best golfer in the world can't necessarily be the best all the time. It just goes to show that anything can happen in the fickle sport of golf.

Woods narrowly avoided shooting the worst round of his professional career as he beat that mark by a mere two strokes. Woods' worst round came back in 2002 as he shot an 81 in the third round of the Open Championship in adverse conditions, according to Steve DiMeglio of USA Today.

Woods was at the top of his game back in 2002, so it proves that there isn't much rhyme or reason to him shooting a bad round. Tiger has easily been the best player in golf this year as he has already won four tournaments, so there is no point in reading into what happened on Saturday.

In fact, maybe a poor showing so close to a major will be a good thing for Woods. He has won tournaments heading into majors in recent years and was seemingly on the verge of capturing an elusive major title on several occasions, but he has fallen short each and every time.

No golfer wants to play poorly, but maybe Saturday's round will be a wake-up call for Tiger. He had been cruising around this season without a care in the world, but he is suddenly faced with adversity. Woods has overcome adversity many times over the course of his career and he has an opportunity to do it again in the U.S. Open.

Luckily for Woods, he has a chance to put the third round behind him by playing better in the fourth round. It would be nearly impossible for Tiger to play any worse, so he should exit the Memorial on a positive note. Also, as much as he would like to win the tournament, Sunday's fourth round presents an opportunity to try some different things and work on various aspects of his game.

Woods is one of the biggest competitors in sports and he is likely fuming over his poor round, but as long as he is able to rebound, it could be a blessing in disguise for the No. 1 player in the world.

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