Tiger Woods made a huge run on Saturday at the Players Championship.
He shot 65, giving himself what he called “an outside chance” to make a Sunday run for the title.
It was an outside chance, at best, because he found himself 11 shots behind Webb Simpson.
Simpson had run circles around the rest of the field, Woods included, to post 19-under with 18 to play.
But things would get really interesting early Sunday afternoon when Woods got it going again.
The 14-time major champion was burying playing partner Jordan Spieth, and in the process, shot four-under over his first nine, just a shot short of the five-under he shot on Saturday.
Birdies at 11 and 12 got him within sniffing distance of the lead and in a tie for second.
But Woods ran into the same problem he had on Saturday.
He played the last six holes one-over on Saturday. On Sunday, he finished them three-over, including a double at the devilish 17th where he hit a tee shot into the water for the first time in more than a decade. Sixty-six turned into a final round 69 and a tie for 11th at 11-under par. You could see the frustration on Woods’ face afterward.
“I played so well this weekend. Unfortunately, I just didn’t cash it in,” Woods said, looking weary from the hard work of the final round.
“I was trying to somehow give myself a chance with four or five to go and it just didn’t happen,” he went on.
“He’s not making a lot of mistakes,” Woods said of eventual winner Webb Simpson. “He’s burying all the putts.”
After opening 72-71, Woods breathed life into the tournament with a 65 then his Sunday run.
Otherwise, it was getting boring out there with Simpson simply playing too steady to fold.
As for Woods, it looks like his comeback is very much ahead of schedule.
