Tiger Woods Stays Hot on Front 9 of 2018 Players Championship Final Round

Tiger Woods probably isn't winning The 2018 Players Championship, barring some historic Webb Simpson collapse. But based on his first nine holes, the former World No. 1 is still in a groove.

Woods shot a four-under 32 on the front nine Sunday, moving him into fourth place as he made the turn. He carded four birdies against zero bogeys to outplay partner Jordan Spieth, who is in 25th place after playing the first nine holes even.

The stretch continued Woods' stellar play from Saturday, where he carded a seven-under 65 to move from the cut line to the fringe of the leaderboard. Over his last 27 holes, Woods has carded 12 birdies and one bogey.

"As I've told you guys this week, I got my playing feels back and it's just a matter of playing and executing and putting the shots together," Woods told reporters after Round 3. "It was nice, I made some putts today, that was basically the difference. I've hit quality irons before and I was able to convert today and got rolling early. This golf course, as humid as it is right now, these greens are going to be holding all day and I knew that going in and I knew I had to be a little bit more aggressive in there and put the ball in these sections and I was able to do that."

For at least the front nine, he was able to continue that trend. He's been sensational off the tee and on the greens, the two areas where he's most struggled. The PGA's strokes gained metric has him gaining 2.3 strokes through the first nine holes, and he's hit 85.7 percent of his fairways.

Simpson is currently at 19 under overall, seven strokes ahead of of Woods. He seems to be playing a conservative game Sunday to preserve his massive lead, which he gained over the course of a brilliant first three days.

Woods is on pace for his first top five since March's Arnold Palmer Invitational.