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Tiger Woods Shoots 4 Over, Finishes Up Inconsistent 2020 Memorial Tournament
July 19, 2020
Tiger Woods wrapped up the Memorial Tournament on Sunday with a 76 in his final round, putting him six strokes over par for the week.
Consistency was a problem in his first official tournament since February, and he was tied for 41st place when he finished play at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He was more than 10 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm going into the clubhouse.
Woods was under par in two of his first three rounds, but he had just three birdies to go with five bogeys and a double bogey in Round 4 in Dublin, Ohio.
The round started well for Woods, opening with a birdie on the first hole thanks to a long putt:
He was accurate with his drive for the first few holes, but it was his short game that abandoned him as the round began to unravel:
A bogey on No. 4, double bogey on No. 7, and two more bogeys on No. 8 and 9 ruined any chance he had at a promising final round, ending up four over on the front nine.
In his defense, the problems were consistent for just about everyone playing Sunday:
Things got a little better on the back nine, seeing more fairways and greens in regulation. He navigated the tough conditions to earn pars before closing with a strong run on the final few holes.
Though his work on the green was rough earlier in the day, the back-to-back birdies featured putts of 17 and 21 feet.
He also hit the fairway on 10 out of 14 drives, the most of any round this week, per PGATour.com. The closing performance should provide plenty of momentum heading forward this season.
A bogey on 18 is also excusable, as it came after a brief weather delay before he returned for his final three strokes.
This was the first PGA Tour event for Woods since the Genesis Invitational, before the season was suspended because of the coronavirus. Fans last saw him at Capital One's "The Match: Champions for Charity" in May, an exhibition alongside Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Regardless of the result this week, Woods saw the value in competing against the best in the world.
"Well, I think that getting back into the flow and competing again and playing at this level, I hadn't done that in a while," he said, per Mike Wells of ESPN. "Playing home and playing out here is so very different."
The next step is to stay healthy, especially with his back apparently feeling stiff at times during this tournament, per Wells.
Woods could compete in the upcoming 3M Open or World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but he might not return to the course until the PGA Championship beginning on Aug. 6.