Tiger Woods is stewing silently

Very rarely does Tiger Woods,15-time major winner decline to talk the media following a round, but at Olympia Fields he has done it two days running. This is definitely a sign of Woods’ frustration at the state of his game after the third round of the BMW Championship in Illinois on Saturday.

At 10 over in the penultimate FedEx Play-off event, the 44-year-old Tiger may have realised his luck has run out and there is no chance of qualifying for next week’s Tour Championship. He will also have to go into the US open in awful form in three weeks’ time.

Woods has yet to break par this week. One more round like that and it will be the first time in 10 years - the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone - that he had all four rounds over par.

The 72 he played on Saturday was a slight improvement, but his seven on the 17th was a reflection of his mood. Woods sliced his drive into the water and then hit a wild hook with his next shot. It was a relief when he tapped in for a four on the 18th. However, he is standing outside the top 50 and not much can save him on Sunday.

Whether or not the state of everyone’s golf at Olympia Fields will cheer him up a little, he didn’t say.

Everyone except two over par going into the final round

Dustin Johnson is 21 shots worse to par than he was a week ago and still looks to be the player to beat.

Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama survived another day at Olympia Fields, both scratching out a 1-under 69 to share the lead Saturday at the BMW Championship.

Matsuyama is trying to end three years without a victory. Johnson is trying to win for the second time in seven days, and to position himself as top seed at the Tour Championship, which would allow him to start the tournament with a two-shot lead.

Patrick Cantlay hit only five fairways and didn't make birdie with a round with a 75 that might cost him a spot in the Tour Championship.

Rory McIlroy had to play left-handed to escape the base of a tree with a bogey. He finished with a shot he thought was going to be long, came up 70 feet short and led to a three-putt bogey for a 73. He still was only three shots back.

Sunday is one last chance for some players to be among the top 30 who advance to the FedEx Cup finale, and one last round for others - like Tiger Woods - to prepare for the U.S. Open on a course that plays every bit as tough.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2EEoIUU