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Tiger Woods Finishes 9 Under at 2019 Memorial Tournament Despite Late Push
June 2, 2019
Tiger Woods mounted a late push in the final round of the 2019 Memorial Tournament but will fall short of earning his second win this PGA Tour season.
Woods shot five under Sunday to finish with a nine-under for the tournament. When he headed for the clubhouse, the 15-time major champion was eight shots back of the leader, Martin Kaymer.
Woods got off to a blistering start, with birdies on five of his first seven holes. Although he was 11 shots off Kaymer to start the day, his five-under 31 on the front nine at least opened the door ever so slightly for an improbable comeback.
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfoAfter starting the day 11 shots back of leader Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods shot 31 (-5) on the front nine. More impressively, he did so by hitting every fariway AND green. It's the 1st time he has done so in any round on the opening nine in the last 10 years. https://t.co/Zmrf4yfdAb
His first birdie came on No. 2 as he sank a 23-foot putt, and he followed up on No. 3 with an excellent approach that left him eight feet from the cup.
Woods set himself up well on the par-five fifth hole by nearly getting on the green in two shots. He chipped to within four feet of the hole from the fringe and earned his third birdie.
Upon making the turn to the back nine, Woods got a par on No. 10 and had back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes.
The fans at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, started grasping the enormity of the moment. They let out a hearty cheer after watching his tee shot come to a stop 11 feet from the hole and then really raised the decibel level after he nailed his birdie putt.
At that point, Woods was only five shots away from Kaymer, which wasn't an insurmountable gap.
He needed everything to go right in the final six holes, so a bogey on No. 14 threw a wrench into those plans. Woods' momentum all but stalled from that point forward, and he fell back to nine under with a bogey on No. 18.
In terms of the final round as a whole, Woods couldn't have performed much better. According to PGATour.com, he reached 12 of 14 fairways and 14 greens. He also averaged 1.571 putts per green in regulation, his best single-round score of the tournament.
After he missed the cut in the PGA Championship, Woods' strong effort Sunday revived hopes he can add a 16th major title at the U.S. Open, which tees off June 13 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
According to Vegas Insider, Brooks Koepka (11-2) was the U.S. Open favorite ahead of Dustin Johnson (7-1) and Woods (10-1).
Once the odds are updated upon the conclusion of the Memorial, Woods will have likely closed the gap on Koepka.