Tiger Woods takes a step forward on Sunday in Norton
"I’m just now starting to get into the rhythm and flow of competing and playing again."
Striding confidently in his trademark red, Tiger Woods did more than merely look the part in the final round of the Northern Trust. Woods played a substantive 18 holes Sunday, shooting a 5-under 66 to finish 6 under for the week, tied for 58th.
It was a vintage display from the 15-time major winner and 2006 winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, at least on the front nine. Woods birdied each of the first four holes, playing some of his best golf of the tournament.
“I felt like I hit the ball better,” Woods said. “I putted better. Everything was just cleaner and better today. It was good. I just wish I would have kept the round going a little bit more.”
Woods sandwiched his last two birdies around a bogey on the par-3 eighth, and made nine pars on the back nine. Given some of the low scores on the course this week, including Scottie Scheffler posting the 12th sub-60 round in Tour history with a Friday 59, Woods entertained the thought of what might have been.
“It could have been, well, it could have been one of those really low rounds,” Woods speculated, “but I’ll take 5-under.”
Woods will need to be better in the BMW Championship, the second of this year’s three FedEx Cup playoff events, to reach the season-ending Tour Championship. The top 30 qualify to play at East Lake, where he won in 2018, and Woods fell from 49th in the standings to 57th after the Northern Trust.
Yet given the unusual nature of the entire season, Woods is remaining patient with his performance.
“I haven’t played my best,” Woods said of his season so far. “I haven’t really played that much. This has been a very different year for all of us, and that’s one of the things that we’ve all had to make adjustments, and for me, I’m just now starting to get into the rhythm and flow of competing and playing again. Hopefully it gets better.”
Major winner does just enough
There wasn’t much suspense still on the course when a 75-minute delay left the final three groups unsure if they’d finish their rounds. Dustin Johnson was clearly on his way to victory, riding all the momentum in the world to Olympia Fields in Illinois for next week’s BMW Championship.
Louis Oosthuizen, meanwhile, wasn’t sure where he was headed. The South African major champion entered the week 99th in the FedEx Cup standings, but had played himself into position to reach the top 70 and move on in the playoffs with a 65-65-68 open to his tournament.
He went out in 2-over 38, however, doubling the par-5 2nd after putting a ball in the water, and made three straight bogeys after a needed birdie on No. 10. A 14-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th put him in range again, but he’d need to birdie the par-5 18th, which he was in the midst of playing when the weather horn blew.
No matter. From 229 yards out, Oosthuizen struck a 3-iron to 31 feet, then made a 4-footer for the needed 4 and 70th place, displacing Doc Redman — who missed the cut at the Northern Trust — for the last spot in next week’s field.
Oosthuizen was one of six to play their way into the BMW, along with Alex Noren, Harry Higgs, Russell Henley (whose tie for eighth leapt him from 101st to 61st), Robby Shelton (who tied Johnson for Sunday’s best honors with an 8-under 63), and Jason Kokrak (whose 65 on Sunday was one of five bogey-free rounds).
“Yeah, it was exciting,” said Shelton of his round, in which the 24-year-old finished birdie-birdie-eagle-par-birdie-birdie. “It kind of felt like I was winning the golf tournament for a minute there.”
Lob shots
⋅ It was a tough weekend for South Hadley’s Richy Werenski, who opened 69-67, then shot 75 on Saturday and 74 on Sunday. Still, Werenski dropped just three spots to 44th in the FedEx Cup standings, giving him a chance to reach his first Tour Championship with a strong BMW Championship.
Fellow New Englander Keegan Bradley isn’t so fortunate. His 1-under 70 on Sunday got him to 10 under, tied for 29th at the Northern Trust. That only bumped him from 112th in the FedEx Cup to 99th, however, meaning his season is over.
⋅ Amid another hot day on Sunday, Scheffler’s caddy Scott McGuinness was carted off the course at the No. 9 green with a calf injury. He was replaced by Eric Ledbetter, an assistant pro at TPC Boston.
⋅ TPC Boston will once again be without a PGA Tour stop next year, the Northern Trust rotating back to
Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey. The following year should more than make up for it, though. Not only will the Northern Trust be back at TPC Boston in 2022, but The Country Club in Brookline will host the US Open as well.
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