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Sports Pulse: USA TODAY Sports Steve DiMeglio discusses the upcoming tournament and why it will present many obstacles for golfers.
USA TODAY'S
After finishing in the top five at Quicken Loans National this month, Tiger Woods is back this week looking for his first league win since the 2008 US Open.
The 14-time Grand Champion participates in the third golf tournament, The Open Championship, this week at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Tiger opened the game Thursday with a par 71 and followed suit with another 71 on Friday.
Tiger played the Open in 2015, missing the cut and finishing 137th. His career at Carnoustie includes a T47 at the Scottish Open 1995, he missed the cup the following year, and then finished T7 at the 1999 Open and T12 at the Open 2007.
Tiger starts at 8:15 am with Shaun Norris. Follow the shot-by-shot analysis of his third round
Hole 15 – Par 4
Iron for Tiger's tee and he finds the fairway. With a 13 mph wind in his back, Tiger has 209 yards left and goes with 7-iron. It lands on the green and runs a few more feet, less than 20, for another birdie. He had the right speed, just the wrong line. He just misses that one, but he fights for par. 6-under at 15 (6 under the tournament)
Update Rank: Kevin Chappell lost a shot, but Tommy Fleetwood picked one to join Tiger, Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at 6 years old.
Hole 14 – Par 5
Aggressive swing with driver here for TW and this one goes just a little to the right. Tiger's approach is green, but he has work to do for the eagle. If he drops the putt, he will have the advantage. He looked at it for a long time and it pays off. He never had enough left, but finished one foot in the hole. He managed a birdie to tie the mark and is now 6-under-14 (6-under for the tournament).
The other leaders: Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Kevin Chappell
Hole 13 – Par 3
8-iron 155 yards here for Tiger, and he lands just a little higher, at about 30 feet from the hole. Safe and useful shot. The Tiger putt rolls an inch to the left of the cup and he can not believe that he is not falling. By. 5-under thru 13 (5-under for the tournament).
Update Ranking: Jordan Spieth completes Jordan Spieth today in his title defense at the Open. He implored his ball to stop on a dime and he did so, leaving a birdie putt to tie his head with Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at age 6.
Hole 12 – Par 4
Fairway center left for Tiger on the tee with an iron on the number 12. Smart shot with bunkers all over this hole, but it's an interesting decision. He played aggressively the last holes, and instead of trying to get on that momentum and maybe make a mistake, he comes back to the conservative game now that he's just a shot of the head. From 251 meters, he goes a little further and finds the bangs right next to the green. Super roll here from Tiger with the putter. His ball took a little hops out of the bangs and comes to rest a few feet from the cup. By. 5-under thru 12 (5-under for the tournament).
Update Ranking: 30 players are four strikes leaders Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at age 6. Seven players tied for third at 5: Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Pat Perez, Kevin Chappell and Patrick Cantlay.
Hole 11 – Par 4
He is sailing now. Tiger takes the pilot and crushes him on the fairway and almost drives the green! He arrives right next to a bunker on the left and will have an easy corner on the putting green for another chance to score. Tiger takes him out of the fairway and he leaves a few meters from the hole for another birdie chance of being in a leaders shot. This falls for his third birdie in a row, 5-under thru 11 (5-under for the tournament).
Hole 10 – By 4
There it is. Tiger is driving for the first time this week on the # 10 and twirls the club while walking out of the box. This is down the fairway on the right. SENSATIONAL. It almost pierces, landing just a few inches from the cut. It's a bliss when you play with friends and Tiger does a birdie. 4-under thru 10 (4-under for the tournament).
A DART of @TigerWoods . ?
-4 to 10. 2 return of the advance #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/JnMWaIaIwo
Thoughts at the turn
Under the front front to the front Back … does that tell you anything? Tiger is in the same position as it was Thursday before losing a solid lap with poor performance in the back. Not being able to close tournaments, or tours from elsewhere, was a massive fight for Tiger in this last return. He avoided mistakes for the most part today, but he needs to go too low in the back to apply pressure and climb up the rankings
Hole 9 – Par 4
Driver here to Tiger and wow is it smoked? Unfortunately, it is a little in the raw state. He has been conservative all day, but still four shots back with leaders still waiting to start, Tiger could start to pick up the pace and take some chances here. At 170 yards from the fescue, Tiger catches it rather well and finds the center of the green. STROKE! Tiger drops long birdie putt to get to 3 under first nine (3 under tournament)
Hole 8 – Par 3
Tiger became aggressive with this one but just came short and leave the green. He goes with putter here and comes a few inches from the cup. He was moving away as he prepared to pump the pump if it fell but instead it was another peer. 2-under thru 8 (2-under for the tournament).
Hole 7 – By 4
The weather is just perfect today at Carnoustie, and Tiger is back at his conservative game. Another perfect iron on the tee is the fairway. He's not as accustomed as Thursday, but it was another solid shot of Tiger's approach. He finds the front of the green, about ten feet from the pin for another birdie opportunity. This one does not fall, but it does not matter, always a peer. 2-under thru 7 (2-under for the tournament)
Hole 6 – par 5
Bea-utiful leads from Tiger on the No. 6. He starts on the left and brings him back to right, landing at the bottom of the channel. His approach has just climbed on the front of the putting green, but the location of the back pin leaves a long eagle putt with a massive hill in his line. His putt takes a big break to the left of the slope and goes to the hole but not enough. He gets inside 8 feet, and Tiger buries the birdie. He is 2-under thru 6 (2-under for the tournament)
Hole 5 – Par 4
Push back the tee for Tiger and this one is in the fairway on the left side. His approach is good, not great, finding the green but not near the hole. He has 42 feet with a slope in his path, but there is not much pause. A bad read and mishit here, go long and right, leaving a little work to do to save by. He drops the putt to stay at 1-under thru 5 (1-under for the tournament).
Hole 4 – By 4
Tiger goes 3-wood here and crushes it just beside 300 meters. He hits the tee very early, which was his main problem yesterday. His approach to the back pin is fantastic, checking within 8 feet for a good birdie eye shot. No doubt about it! A sure blow and strong drops the birdie putt. 1-under thru 4 (1-under for the tournament)
Hole 3 – Par 4
Tiger paints the middle of the fairway with this one. No. 4 is a little shorter now, and to avoid some bunkers, he removed the iron from the bag. That's right, he just hit a 7-iron on the tee on a par 4. His approach finds the green, but he stays a certain distance, leaving about 30 feet for birdie. Tiger took this one for a ride over a slope and with a heavy break but just misses the hole. Another par. Even at 3 (Even for the tournament).
Hole 2 – Par 4
Driver of the tee for Tiger and this one is crushed with 316 yards of the fairway. Flip wedge from there and Tiger enters it in 10 feet for a birdie chance. He did not have the right line because it just misses the right edge of the cup. Tap-in par. Even through 2 (Even for the tournament).
Hole 1 – Par 4
Push the tee back to # 1 for Tiger and he tapes it on the right side of the fairway, but the ball just sinks into the first rough cut. The tiger loses this one a long time and left in the rough rough. His chip is solid enough, finding the green with about 10 feet left to save the normal, and save by him. Even after 1 (Even for the tournament).
Update ranking: Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner are still tied for the 6-under ranking, but Chris Wood ran. He has 6 holes under 14 holes and is 4 for the tournament. The best lap of the day, however, belongs to Justin Rose, whose under-64 player (a course record held by Tommy Fleetwood) also has him at 4 under and only two head shots
