Tiger Woods’ woes at Riviera continue

PACIFIC PALISAIDES, Calif. – Tournament host Tiger Woods will have to wait at least one more year for another chance to break his win drought at Riviera Country Club after a tough third round at The Genesis Invitational.

After opening the tournament with rounds of 69-73 to sit 10 shots back of Matt Kuchar’s 36-hole lead, Woods left Friday night knowing he could ill afford any mistakes on the weekend if he was to make a charge up the leaderboard.

But any thoughts of a vintage surge were thwarted early as he played his first seven holes in five-over par, including a disastrous four-putt for a double bogey on the par-4 13th, his fourth hole of the morning.

Woods had a birdie attempt from 18-feet, four-inches but pulled it left. He then missed from two-feet, four-inches for par and three-feet, two-inches for bogey with power lip outs before finally getting it home from three-feet for a double.

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No other venue has repelled Woods like Riviera – the 82-time PGA TOUR winner is in his 13th try in this tournament with a runner up in 1999 his best return. Riviera is where his PGA TOUR career began as a 16-year-old having grown up in nearby Cypress.

Amazingly, it is the second time Woods has four-putted the 13th green at Riviera having also done so in the third round in 2000. It is the only green on record in his career that he has done so twice and comes one start after four-putting during the Farmers Insurance Open on the opening hole of Torrey Pines South.

Four of his now 14 career four-putts have come since June 2018.

“That was a lot of shots. I hit the ball quite a few times, especially on the greens, and it was a long day,” Woods said post round. “I didn't putt well today at all. I didn't have a feel for it, I didn't see my lines, I couldn't feel my pace and I was just off.”

Woods finished the round with a 5-over 76 to drop to five over for the tournament and into a tie for 63rd.

When asked of the positives from his tough day at the office, the 44-year-old could only wryly say, “Well, I'm done.”

But then added, “It’s a new day tomorrow. That's the way golf is, put it in the past and try to learn from what I did right and wrong. Obviously there wasn't a whole lot I did right today, and figure it out for tomorrow.

“I just need to… not throw away shots with wedges in my hand, not three-putt, four-putt. All the things that, you clean all that up, next thing you know, you add that up and I'm probably, what, 7, 8, 9 under, and that's without doing anything great, just not doing any of the dumb things.”

Woods has decided against playing in next week’s World Golf Championships – Mexico Championship and says he is still unsure of when his next start will come after tomorrow’s final round.

“That's the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback -- how much do I play, when do I play, do I listen to the body or do I fight through it?” he said. “There are some things I can push and some things I can't.

“I feel stiff, but I have weeks like that, especially in the cold mornings like it was the other day. Don't quite move as well and that's just kind of how it's going to go.”