18:54 – That does it – a lucky 13th for Tiger Woods. Though many suspected he’d win, I doubt many would have predicted he’d have quite this much trouble. Congratulations, Tiger Woods.
18:47 – Tiger’s approach at the 18th finds the back center of the green. He has three putts to win the 89th PGA Championship. But first he has to wait for Stephen Ames, currently back to +6 for the day. His ball stops within two feet of Tiger’s.
18:44 – Nicklaus won his 13th at 35 years old. Tiger will win his 13th at 31 (and will turn 32 this December).
18:42 – Woody, from 60 feet or so on the 18th, gives the hole a scare but runs it four or five feet by. He should make that to finish at -6, in second alone. Kudos on his 67. That round and his finish will bump Lucas Glover from the top 10 on the Presidents Cup team.
18:40 – Tiger from 25 feet at the 17th: to tap-in range. Easy par, two-shot lead going to the 18th tee.
18:39 – Austin catches a good break, has a relatively clean shot at the green, and finds the front edge. In his post-round interview, Ernie Els blames the two short missed putts and some mistakes on the front.
18:36 – Woods safely finds the green at the 17th and leaves himself about 25 feet uphill for birdie.
18:34 – Woody Austin kicks up a tuft of grass, plays his driver off the deck of the 18th tee, and flails it way right into the trees. WTF?!?!
18:32 – Els gets up and down at the 18th for par. He will finish at -5. Whether you call this one step on the road to recovery or one of Ernie’s best shots at a major in the later stages of his career depends on a lot of things, I suppose, but either way, it was a good effort.
18:30 – Tiger finds the center of teh 17th. Ames is +7 today and +3 overall. Tiger can par in for 69, and if Ames pars in, that’s an eight-shot difference. Woody Austin bangs his 10-footer in to stay two back. He has one to play.
18:28 – Woody chunks his bunker shot out and will face 10 feet for par at 17. Els hits 5-iron from 201 at the 18th just through the back of the green. Even if he chips in he’ll still be two back of Tiger, who has two to play.
18:26 – Austin, from the left rough on 17, finds the greenside bunker. Tiger has about 20 feet at the 16th for birdie to get to -9 (my predicted winning score). He misses left.
18:21 – Els two-putts from 20 feet at the 17th to remain at -5. Tiger, from 166 with an 8I, flies his approach just over the flag to about 15-20 feet. “How easily this could have been a three-major year for Tiger, and five of the last six” a friend comments. 1, 1, 2, 2, T12, 1.
18:15 – Woody’s long birdie effort at the 16th rolls past the hole. Tiger pulls the driver on the tee, then absolutely whales it down the right-center of the fairway. “Probably went 350” says McCord. Austin pars to stay two back, but this tournament is now officially over
18:15 – Woody’s long birdie effort at the 16th rolls past the hole. Tiger pulls the driver on the tee, then absolutely whales it down the right-center of the fairway. “Probably went 350” says McCord. Austin pars to stay two back, but this tournament is now officially over.missing valuemissing value
18:12 – Els puts his approach at the 17th to about fifteen feet. Tiger lines up his birdie putt at the 16th, then knocks it in to get back to -8. He has a two-shot lead over Austin and, barring any mistakes from Tiger, knocks Els out of the tournament.
18:07 – Tiger puts his ball to just inside the spot where Woody missed his birdie on the 15th. Els bogeys to fall back to -5, two back. Tiger -7, Austin -6, Els -5.
18:01 – Tiger lips out his five-footer for bogey and falls back to -7. Woody Austin misses his birdie putt just left. Ernie’s third at the 16th is “20 yards too far” according to McCord. He has 40 feet for par.
17:58 – Austin’s second at the 15th is about 12 feet right of the pin. Ernie pitches out from the trees left on 16. Tiger blows his birdie putt about four or five feet past the hole. Ames is +6 for the day.
17:52 – Tiger chickens out a little with a 6-iron at the 222-yard 14th, leaving it well right. Els, at the 16th, yanks one way left, into the trees, and left of even the gallery.
17:47 – Except for Arron Oberholser at -1, only Els, Austin, and Woods are under par for this 89th PGA Championship. Woods -8, Els and Austin -6, Oberholser -1, the world E or worse. Els, from just short of the 15th green, safely putts up to two feet and pars.
17:45 – Tiger nearly holes his bunker shot, calmly taps in for par. Still, he lost a shot to the field here. The ball looked like it was heading in but broke just over the left edge at the end.
17:43 – Tiger, from 86 yards at the 13th, blows the ball through the green and into the back bunker. I’m getting tired of hearing about his ankle, though, CBS guys.
17:42 – Woody Austin, with 5-iron on the 14th, leaves the ball to the right and barely finds the putting surface, 50 feet away. Ernie at the 15th, with an iron, finds the fairway.
17:37 – Ernie birdies the 14th to go to -6, two back of Tiger Woods. Woody’s eagle attempt is left short but he’ll birdie to get to within two as well. This may be the biggest “charge” Tiger’s ever seen. Speaking of Tiger, he’s chopped out into the fairway after blowing his tee shot right.
17:30 – Tiger putts to a foot and taps in for yet another par. It’s been his game plan yesterday and all of today. Els just misses short and right with his eagle but will tap in for birdie to join Woody at -5, three back. Congrats to Maria Jose Uribe for her 1up win in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
17:24 – Els has 35 feet for eagle at the 13th. Tiger’s in the center of the 12th fairway, 178 yards away with a 7-iron. He puts the ball on the center of the green to about 40 feet.
17:21 – Austin birdies the 12th from way far away, just off the front right of the green, to get to -5. He’s three behind Tiger. He has one putt on three holes on the back nine.
17:16 – Tiger nearly holes his birdie putt at the 11th, but taps in for par to remain at -8.
17:11 – Ernie has twelve feet for par at the twelfth after finding the back bunker. Tiger hits a 9I to the middle right of the 11th green. He no longer looks injured. Els would miss and fall back to -4 minutes later.
17:08 – Tiger safely two putts, I’m told. The storm isn’t moving very quickly. Uribe is in tight at the 17th hole! My video returns, so I switch off of the women.
17:04 – Tiger finds the 10th green safely and will have 35 feet for birdie. A short, powerful thunderstorm is currently blocking a satellite. I can tell you that the U.S. Women’s Amateur (Amanda Blumenhurst versus Maria Jose Uribe) is all square with two to play.
16:58 – “The statistics will tell you, yes, it is over,” Els said after a 69 left him six shots behind. “But as a competitor, I can’t sit there and tell you it’s over. I can’t ever do that.” But if he were watching from his house? “If I was not a golfer – a fan on the couch – I’d be putting my house on him, yeah,” Els said.
Ernie misses his short birdie putt on the 11th and remains three back. Tiger is hurt but trying to hide it, some suggest.
16:56 – Tiger bogeys the ninth. Ernie, three back, has a short birdie putt at the 11th.
16:55 – John Daly putts out on the 18th for a par. Despite his “Maxfli Fire” hat, the ball is clearly marked “Titleist.”
16:50 – Tiger drives left at nine, comes up short with his approach, and flops to 12 feet. Ernie, after hitting driver on the tenth, birdies from a few feet to get to -5. Tiger may be back to -8 shortly.
16:44 – Tiger birdies the eighth from the fringe and about 25 feet away, moving five clear. His fist pump is so energy-packed he slightly twists his ankle. Tiger, undone by his own fist pump?
16:33 – Tiger birdies the seventh to go to -8, four clear of Ernie Els (-4) and five clear of Woody Austin (-3). Els misses a shortish putt for birdie at the ninth.
16:29 – Tiger to six feet at seven, and Woody finds the front of the 252-yard eighth.
16:28 – Cane is coming to CBS this fall, in case you missed the last promo five minutes earlier. Or the one two minutes before that.
16:21 – Tiger two-putts from a mile for par at the sixth. Ames gets up and down from the bunker. Austin misses his eight footer for par a hole ahead to go back to -3. Tiger leads by four, briefly, until Els birdies the eighth to get to -4.
16:14 – Feherty after Tiger finds the middle of the par-three seventh: “He’s going to make someone else do the work today.”
16:10 – Tiger gets up and down to save par at the fifth. He remains at -7. Austin two-putts from long range at the sixth. Ames three-putts to fall back to -2 again.
16:04 – Tiger fails to find the fairway with his second at the fifth, then dumps his third into the front left bunker. Ames finds the green from the fairway, but has a lengthy putt.
15:56 – Austin yanks the ball left of the fifth green. Tiger yanks his tee shot into the trees. Austin would salvage par.
15:53 – Tiger pours his birdie into the center of the cup and gets back to -7. Austin -4, Ames -3, Els -3.
15:49 – Tiger also nearly eagles the fourth but pulls his wedge back to 10 feet. He’ll have an uphill putt. CBS is enjoying using their slow-mo cameras. I just wish they’d show more golfers and less kids pouring water on their heads.
15:42 – Woody misses his birdie putt. Verplank nearly holes out on the seventh. Commenter “thementhol” says “Tiger has been playing par game since yesterday.” I agree.
15:40 – Tiger safely two-putts. Austin with 113 nearly holes out for eagle, leaving himself about four feet for birdie to get to within one. The trick to beating Tiger may be to play in a different group. Ames birdies the third to get back to -3.
15:36 – Tiger finds the green at three. Austin finds the fairway at the fourth. And we’re off to commercial yet again. Oh the pain I go through to do these live blogs… 🙂
15:29 – Austin birdies the third to get to -4, two back of Tiger Woods. Speaking of whom, with driver off #3, finds the right trees.
15:26 – Ames bogeys to go to -2. Tiger misses his par attempt from the back fringe and falls to -6, three clear of Woody Austin. Tiger’s led by two or more strokes after 54 holes 23 times. He’s won all 23.
15:20 – Els holes a long one at the third to get to -2. Yawwwn. Okay, so 74 may not be a good guess. Ames is on his way to a 76, though. He’s bunkered well short at the second. Tiger, from the left rough, punches out through the right side of the fairway. That’s safer than going into the water behind the second green.
15:14 – Tiger holes his long par putt after Ames leaves his short. Tiger has a four-shot lead. He yanks his drive at the second.
15:07 – Ames chips out. Tiger barely finds the front of the green with an 8-iron from 201. Feherty disagrees with Ames’ strategy. Tiger’s first putt rolls six feet past the hole.
15:00 – Tiger’s on the tee. Including his amateur appearances, this marks his 50th major. Jack had won 11 by the time he played in his 50th. Tiger will have 13 by day’s end. His tee shot doesn’t go very far but it’s in the fairway. Ames finds the trees well left of the first fairway. And so it begins…
14:49 – Neither Ernie nor Boo find the first green. I predicted none of the top ranked golfers (except Tiger) would be in contention Sunday. I guess with Ernie I was wrong, but I’m still expecting a mini-collapse. Say, a 74 or so.
14:41 – Ernie Els tees off. Wake me in another 20 minutes. Let’s see if Boo can get Ernie DQed as well.
14:29 – David Feherty gets to ride in a fighter jet. Still, play September 1, give your extra dollar (or five), and support a good cause.
14:24 – Phil shoots 69 and is done (at +6) before Tiger even really gets warmed up.
14:22 – Stephen Ames is seen getting coaching (re: his shoulder turn it seems) on the range. Is that a good sign? Woody Austin is wearing the same dumb shirt he’s worn a few times this year (because he won in it earlier).
14:20 – Simon Dyson holes a birdie at the 18th to shoot 64 and finish at even par.
14:17 – 13 of 18 pins are within five paces of the edges of the greens, says Faldo.
14:13 – Woody Austin’s “if I do it, I’m a loose cannon” clip is replayed. Though Woody has a point, it’s a weak one – Tiger hasn’t ever whacked himself in the head or done any of the other slightly nutty things Woody’s done over the years.
14:10 – Stephen Ames is interviewed by David Feherty and succeeds at not putting his foot in his mouth.
14:06 – Appropriately, the first live shot we see is a putt from Retief Goosen. He taps in for birdie to get to +4 total and -1 today. John Daly is seen at +2 and lost his golf ball.
14:00 – Tiger will tee off in about an hour. The odds of him winning given his three-shot lead? Roughly 99.5%, or about the same odds that he’ll sign an incorrect scorecard and be DQed.
This is nice.
I hope you are wrong about Ernie though. Go Big Easy.
what chances of Tiger throwing in another bogey early?
Tiger has been playing par game since yesterday.
Ernie came to play today.
What about that snowboarder going around the world on “points” on TNT?. As if points are a free giveaway.
Wow, Ernie is playing amazing, but I don’t think it is enough.
Agree..maybe if Tiger plays a bad hole causing a two shot swing..we may see a fight to the finish.
Congrats Dad Tiger!.
Have we finally identified an area of Tiger’s game that has not improved? Perhaps his fist pumps are a new danger lurking on the horizon.