Woods throws charge into Bellerive with wild final-round 64
ST. LOUIS – Tiger Woods didn’t hit a fairway on the front nine.
He was right in it.
The winner of 14 majors and 79 PGA TOUR events executed a series of deft par saves; made an improbable birdie after taking a drop from the cart path at the par-4 ninth hole; and kept within a shot or two of the lead on the back nine before signing for a final-round 64 to finish two behind winner Brooks Koepka at the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive.
“I didn't drive it good all day,” Woods said. “I was struggling with my golf swing. ... I knew this was going to be a struggle to try and piece together a round, and I did.”
The runner-up finish continues a comeback for Woods, whose four back surgeries had limited his play for years and put his career in jeopardy. He moved from 47th to 20th in the FedExCup, and most likely secured a captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, having gone from 20th to 11th on the points table.
“I didn't know what my schedule would be,” an elated Woods said of his outlook at the start of this season. “I didn't know how many tournaments I would play this year or if I would even play.”
Woods made eight birdies and two bogeys Sunday, despite hitting just five of 14 fairways, his worst performance of the week. He made up for it with laser-like iron shots like the one he hit to kick-in distance at the par-4 15th, and a tidy 23 putts.
His 266 was the lowest aggregate score in a major, and the 64 was his lowest-ever final round in a major. He also set off a series of deafening roars at Bellerive, none louder than the one at the ninth, where he got in trouble left, hooked a 9-iron out of the crowd to just inside 11 feet, and made the putt. “I had to keep making birdies,” he said.
“Everybody on the golf course heard it,” Koepka said of the roars. “… He’s the greatest player to ever play the game, and to have the comeback that he’s having is incredible.”
The solo second was Woods’ best result this season, eclipsing the T2, behind winner Paul Casey, at the Valspar Championship in mid-March. Less than a month ago he contended and even briefly took the lead late Sunday before finishing T6 at The Open Championship at Carnoustie.
“At the beginning of the year,” he said, “if you would say I would have a legit chance to win the last two major championships, I—with what swing? I didn't have a swing at the time. I had no speed. I didn't have a golf swing. I didn't have -- my short game wasn't quite there yet. My putting was okay. But God, I hadn't played in two years. So it's been a hell of a process for sure.”
As well as Woods scored, he needed to eagle the par-5 17th hole, but after losing his drive right and into a lateral hazard, he did well just to make par.
Still, just having him in the mix cranked up the volume at Bellerive.
Justin Thomas (68, T6) has been a key figure in the Woods comeback. Even when the oft-injured superstar could do little more than chip and putt, Thomas and Rickie Fowler would go over to his house for chipping and putting contests. Now, though, they are faced with a different Woods. A competitor. Again. Maybe not the competitor he was in his prime, but close, at least at times.
“It was pretty cool,” Thomas said. “The crowds were awesome. You could hear the roars from different parts of the golf course. It's pretty apparent what a Tiger roar is versus anybody else.”
Said Koepka, “It pushes you to step up your game, because you know he’s right there if you fall.”
Next stop in the Woods comeback: The FedExCup Playoffs.
“I'm in uncharted territory,” he said. “Because no one's ever had a fused spine hitting it like I'm hitting it. So, I had to kind of figure this out on my own and it's been really hard, it's a lot harder than people think. And I'm just very pleased at what I've done so far and now to be part of the Ryder Cup conversation, going from where I've come from to now in the last year, it's been pretty cool.”
