Despite the encouraging start, Woods said he had struggled to find his best form.
Advertisement
Woods now has a +200 price on the moneyline at Bovada, with Bill Haas at +900 and both Martin Kaymer and Tom Hoge at +1200. Hoge shot a 67.
Woods followed his best round since 2013 – a first-day 64 – with one nearly as good.
Many played well Saturday. When asked if he would recognize Hoge to see him, Woods responded: “No, I wouldn’t?” No”, Woods said. “I didn’t realize the back surgery was going to take that much of a toll on me. I just need to be confident and hit good shots, stay positive.
A shot off the lead on 10 under were Davis Love III and Chad Campbell. Woods, making his first appearance at one of the PGA Tour’s oldest tournaments as part of a last-ditch effort to make the FedExCup play-offs, was greeted like a rock star by hundreds of fans when he arrived on his first tee under gloomy skies at Sedgefield Country Club. A solo second-place finish might also give him a chance – depending on other finishers. He is also trying to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin next week.
Earlier this week, the told reporters as Whistling Straits in Wisconsin that he’s just looking for improvement in this week’s PGA Championship, a tournament he won four times between 1999 and 2007. So did No. 129 Camilo Villegas – the defending champion – and No. 125 Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters victor.
But after another birdie on No. 5, the rest of his day was rather uneventful.
The former world number one said he would not allow himself to become distracted by the prospect of booking his place in the postseason.
After which, enjoying beneath a scorching afternoon solar that sped up these undulating greens, Woods virtually matched it.
“I kept leaving myself in tough spots above the hole on every single hole”, he said. Tiger Woods played two great rounds so far and now shares part of the lead heading into the weekend.
Snedeker’s putt from about 50 feet on his last hole capped his round.
Pettersson responded with birdies on the next three holes.
Woods looked exhausted or somewhat injured or both throughout the round, nearly as though he had put all of his energy into the first 36 holes. “The wonderful thing about golf, you’ll be able to all the time get slightly bit higher”.
Woods seemed pleased with his putts, even the one that left him with his lone bogey.
“There are so many guys out here I don’t know”, he said. Brown recovered nicely from a front nine that saw two birdies erased by a pair of bogeys by birdieing four of his final nine holes.
Advertisement
For the first time this year, Woods has shot three consecutive rounds in the 60s.
