Woods’ third round crash casts doubts for Ryder Cup
Matters are not improving for Tiger Woods. On a course where he averages 10 under par per tournament, he has yet to beat par for a single round. In fact, he hasn’t broken par for a single nine holes in the 2010 version of the tournament.
His third round again started horribly with two bogeys in the first four holes. Although he hit back with a birdie on five, he then bogeyed the seventh and double-bogeyed the eighth. He steadied the ship on the back nine somewhat with a string of pars and a birdie at 11, and this is when you know things are bad: when we’re happy to see Tiger Woods hit a bunch of pars. However, bogeys at 17 and 18 sent Woods from the course with a scowl.
He finished Saturday with a five-over-par 75, 18 shots off the lead.
Even European Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie, isn’t afraid to poke Woods with a stick, saying he’s “not mentally with it” right now and suggesting that the current world number one might not be a good pick for the Ryder Cup. Woods is not automatically eligible for the Ryder Cup, due to start on October 1st, because he is not ranked in the top eight American golfers in Ryder Cup points. As things stand, Hunter Mahan could well push him even further down the list. Mahan is five shots off the lead at Firestone going into the weekend.
American Ryder Cup captain has hinted that he intends to pick Woods if he doesn’t qualify automatically, but Montgomerie feels this may be a risk. “Does Corey Pavin take a chance hoping Tiger’s form will change before the Ryder Cup? That’s up to him and not us.”
Before the Bridgestone Invitational, the World Golf Championship event started at Firestone Country Club on Thursday, Woods refused to answer the question of whether he would accept a captain’s invitation to play in the Ryder Cup for the American team. Three times he was asked if he would accept a captain’s pick from Pavin, not considered one of Woods’ closest friends on the tour. Three times he said stone-faced, “I’m planning on playing my way onto the team.”
Sixteen bogeys and one double-bogey in three rounds of golf suggest Montgomerie might have a point. The fact is, right now, Woods is not one of the best players in the world, not even on the courses he loves. He probably wishes he could skip the fourth round and go prepare for next week’s PGA.
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