The
talk of Tiger Woods being “back” should have stopped last March
when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he then won The Memorial
Tournament and then claimed the title at his own AT&T National to
cap a three win season in 2012. Then in January he won again at
Torrey Pines. Four wins on four courses he has a combined 21 PGA Tour
titles on, and this Sunday Tiger takes a four-stroke lead into the
final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He is in command of a
tournament on a course which he has already won three times on and on
course for a 76th PGA Tour win, 17th World Golf
Championship and 89th Official World Ranking tournament
win of his incredible career.
The
birdie putt on the 18th hole on Saturday really was for me
the moment I thought this tournament was in all respects was over.
This was Tiger Woods at his dominant and iconic best, making a
difficult downhill putt on the final hole at a critical moment, a
moment where a three-putt would have shaved his lead to two and not
extended it to four as the resultant birdie did. Graeme McDowell
showed typical grit and determination to overcome a mid-round wobble
in an otherwise outstanding third round and will play in the final
group on Sunday with Woods again, something the 2010 US Open champion
relishes.
Phil
Mickelson was eager to get into the final pairing with Tiger but came
up short and will play for a fourth straight day with Steve Stricker,
starting 5 shots behind the World Number 2 as he aims to claim a
third WGC title and second win at Doral. Stricker won his first World
Golf Championship twelve years ago and will also start the final
round five shots behind, with Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel, Keegan
Bradley, Bubba Watson and last week's winner Michael Thompson a
further two shots adrift.
Rory
McIlroy had another inconsistent day, three-putting the final hole
and sits at 3-under, some 15 shots behind Woods but it is all about
four rounds for the World Number One as he tries to find form ahead
of The Masters.
The
WGC-Cadillac Championship is however all about Tiger Woods.
It
has been four long years since Tiger Woods won a World Golf
Championship, a series he absolutely dominated more than any other
between 1999 and 2009 saw him win 16 World Golf Championships and he
will more than likely close on another one tomorrow evening. Even
when Woods makes a mistake he seems capable of putting it straight
out of his mind and bounces back almost immediately, which is
probably the most daunting thing about competing against him now. He
is swinging well, holing putts and his mind is as strong as ever, a
combination which is seemingly unbeatable. Woods is set to add to the
16 WGC's he has won in his career and set to extend his incredible
record lead in terms of wins in the series over the next best of 3
wins, held by Geoff Ogilvy. He may set a record in this series which
will never ever be got close to let alone overtaken.
You
can see if Tiger can add another win or whether Graeme McDowell or
anyone else can come through and surprise the world on Sunday on Golf
Channel in the US from 1pm ET and NBC from 3pm ET, and Sky Sports in
the UK from 6pm GMT.
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