The First Look: PGA Championship

Tiger Woods, ranked 12th after a successful 2018 season that saw him post seven top-10 finishes in 18 starts, will make his first start of 2019 at Torrey Pines, where he has won eight times.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – For all his winning history here at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, it was traditionally done with blistering third rounds to get into the lead. That wasn’t the case for Tiger Woods in Saturday’s third round at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, however. Oh, he birdied three times early and added three on the back nine, and with a 3-under 69 he pushed to 7 under. But unlike in seven of the eight times he has won this tournament, Woods will not be in the lead to start the final round. Instead, tied for 10th. When he slipped home a 12-footer to birdie the 18th and ignite more thunder, Woods casually assessed the situation and stayed unfazed by the commotion. “I’m four back,� he said, knowing the leaders had six or seven holes to play, “and I figure I’ll be five or six back at the end of the day.� He’s a veteran with great wisdom, because true enough, Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau held serve coming in. Stenson did bogey the par-3 17th and DeChambeau the par-4 15th, but with rounds of 71 and 72, respectively, they ended the day as they began it – atop the leaderboard. At 12-under 204, Stenson finished one clear of DeChambeau, but it would be foolhardy to suggest that Woods can only focus on those two. Not with Rory McIlroy alone in third at 10 under and Justin Rose tied for fourth with Ryan Moore at 9 under. Throw in Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler at 8 under and Woods knows there is a formidable group ahead of him. In fact, Stenson, DeChambeau, McIlroy, Rose, Moore, Fowler and Hoffman combine for 41 PGA TOUR wins and 41 more worldwide. Woods’ only victory in which he didn’t have the 54-hole lead here came in 2009, but then, he was alone in second and overtook Sean O’Hair. The challenge is more of a hurdle this time around. “I’m going to have to shoot a low one and probably get a little bit of help,� said Woods, who is playing his fifth tournament after having virtually sat out the previous two seasons. “But my responsibility is to go out and shoot a low one first.� NOTABLES Feels more like it: After a fast start in the Middle East on the European Tour, Rory McIlroy expected to continue that momentum. But coming into Bay Hill, he had missed the cut in two of his four starts on the PGA TOUR and played 13 rounds in 10 over. Those hiccups aside, McIlroy attacked the par 5s on the back – eagle at 12, birdie at 16 – then stuffed his approach to 2 feet to birdie the 18th. With 67, McIlroy got in at 10 under, solo third. “I wanted to at least give myself a chance,� said McIlory, who started six back and is now two back. “I can’t really ask for much more.� Is that any way to treat the host? You’d have to give Fowler high marks for the way he handled a bad break at the closing hole that ended his day on a sour note. His approach from 171 yards was tugged left into a bunker and ended up being as bad a buried lie as you could possibly imagine. He could barely see it, then he could barely move it a few feet. Fowler ended up with a double-bogey, which, on top of a bogey at 17, stung. From one off the lead through 16, he finished 8 under, tied for sixth and four back. He’ll get another chance: Justin Rose is not haunted at all by what happened last week at the Valspar Championship. In contention to win and playing in the final pairing, Rose shot 72 and faded to a share of fifth. “That was a great Sunday, really,� he said. “I really hung in there (without his best game). Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow.� With a stellar 67, Rose will start Sunday’s fourth round at 9-under, tied for fourth and just three back. QUOTABLES I decided before the tournament that I was going to go ‘Full Zach Johnson’ on that hole. Well, I didn’t go ‘Full GMac.’  I feel like people are more into this (Tiger Woods) comeback this time around. So, it’s fun to play out there, for sure.  SUPERLATIVES Best sense of the calendar: On a day when he wore a green shirt and saw a sea of green everywhere, Graeme McDowell didn’t need to be told that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Which meant he was going to celebrate his bogey-free 69. “What was UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), 2,000-to-1? The odds are way less that I’m going to have a Guinness later today.� Best stretch: He was 38 holes into his tournament and Austin Cook had made just four birdies. Then, he made five in a row, starting at the par-4 third. He added three on the back to shoot 66 to move from T-66 to T-18. Most water: Hard to argue that Adam Scott doesn’t feel like he needs a mask and snorkel on the par-5 sixth. He hit his second shots into the water in Rounds 1 and 2, then his third into the hazard Saturday. He is 4 over on the hole. Rudest greeting: The par-4 first hole ranked eighth-toughest (4.000 field average) and was followed by the par-3 2nd, which ranked toughest (3.273). It was particularly painful for Luke List, who started tied for sixth, but promptly went bogey, double-bogey. Longest birdie: Harris English made a putt of nearly 48 feet for one of the few birdies at the 215-yard, par-3 14th.   SHOT OF THE DAY

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