Tiger Woods at Quicken Loans National 2015: Sunday Leaderboard Score, Reaction

The positives for Tiger Woods in 2015 have been few and far between. String together a couple of good drives, maybe sink a few putts and, for the love of all things holy, make it to the weekend. In that regard, the 2015 Quicken Loans National was already a success before Sunday's final round.

To finish the tournament, Woods kept the good feelings rolling, shooting a three-under 68 and capping off one of his best all-around performances of the season. The former world No. 1 shot six birdies against three bogeys, including five birdies in his first 10 holes. He went into the clubhouse in a tie for 22nd, one stroke away from clinching his first top-20 finish since April's Masters Tournament.

ESPN Stats & Info provided some context:

It was a week of largely encouraging signs for Woods, who has been cut four times in 10 events this year, including a dispiriting performance at last month's Open Championship. He went into the weekend tied for fifth place after going 68-66 in the first two rounds, marking the first time he'd been in the top five after Friday since 2013.

A third-round 74 ruined his chance at getting his first win of 2015, but his ability to avoid a collapse bodes well for the remainder of his season.

Woods, teeing off mid-morning well before the leaders, looked like a potential top-10 finisher early in his round. He knocked down an 11-foot birdie on the par-four third, then followed it up with additional under-par scores on No. 4 and No. 5. 

"Thank God my short game is back," Woods said Saturday, per Bob Harig of ESPN.com. "Now I just need to get the ball-striking in there a little bit better and consistent. It's the best I've felt with the putter and I rolled it so pure, but I never could get the ball on the green fast enough."

Woods' hot putter continued on No. 9, as he hit a lengthy 42-foot shot for birdie that helped him make the turn at 32. He got to his low point of the tournament at 10 under with another birdie on No. 10, hitting a brilliant tee shot and solid approach before finishing up from about nine feet. At that point, Woods was closing in on the leaderboard and seemingly putting together the round many hoped he would Saturday.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

But that was about the point when things began falling apart.

A frustrating three-putt on No. 11, including a miss from three feet out, gave Woods his first bogey of the afternoon. Another bogey came on the next hole, though the situation could have been far worse. After a wild tee shot went way right and into a hazard, causing him to drop a shot, Woods chose to go all-in with his 5-wood from deep rough rather than safely punching the shot out. The result was a marvelous approach that landed on the greenside fringe.

While Woods' driving issues cost him another shot at the par-five 14th, his round largely calmed down from there. He parred Nos. 15 and 16 before getting one of his strokes back on the 17th, hitting a careful drive into a solid approach before finishing from eight feet out. He had an additional chance to close out his round with a birdie on No. 18 but two-putted from 13 feet to go into the clubhouse at 68.

In all, Woods' two weekend rounds canceled each other out. The letdown of Saturday was replaced by a solid 18 on Sunday, which was undone only a bit by a sorry four-hole stretch on the back nine. With the year's final major coming up Aug. 13 at Whistling Straits, Woods is playing the best golf he has the entire season. The last two PGA Championships at the Wisconsin course saw him finish 28th (2010) and 24th (2004).

With any luck, the Quicken Loans National will be the prelude to improving on those outcomes.