Woods cools off after weather delay, in contention at the Memorial Tournament

DUBLIN, Ohio — Tiger Woods is in position to make a run at his 80th PGA TOUR victory and first in almost five years after a second-round 67 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on Friday.  He is 5-under and was six behind leader Kyle Stanley when he finished. Woods came from four behind on the final day in each of his last two victories at Muirfield Village. Woods’ round could have been better. He had holed out from 95 yards for eagle at the par-5 11th hole and was eying a birdie putt from inside six feet at the par-3 12th when the horn blew for a weather delay. Play resumed nearly 90 minutes later, though Woods missed that birdie and two others from close range at Nos. 13 and 16. He also missed a par putt from just outside of three feet at the 17th hole.  Woods hit 9-of-14 fairways and 14-of-18 greens in regulation. He took 27 putts, but was deep in negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting (-3.676) when he signed his scorecard.  This year has been a pleasant surprise for Woods, who missed all of last year after undergoing back fusion surgery. As recently as last fall he wasn’t sure his body would allow him to resume one of the greatest careers of all time. He has done exactly that, going from 656th to 83rd in the Official World Golf Ranking this year. Muirfield would seem a likely venue for him to break a winless streak that goes back to the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.  He’s certainly been knocking on the door. In his last start, Woods thrilled audiences with a 65-69 weekend to finish T11 at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The result was part of an impressive body of work this season in Florida, where he also finished second (Valspar Championship), T5 (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard), and 12th (The Honda Classic). Woods came into this week having amassed 548 FedExCup points (54th), and with a 69.988 scoring average.  Woods got off to a rough start at the Memorial on Thursday, going 4-over for his first seven holes before gathering himself to salvage an even-par 72. He cited mild tightness in his back. He was much better Friday, when he went 5-under through 11. After missing good chances at 12 and 13, he converted from just inside 13 feet at the par-5 15th hole, making him 5-under on the par-5s.

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