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Tiger Woods declared himself satisfied with this third-round 71 at Muirfield Village on Saturday and although there is no chance for even this miracle-maker to secure a sixth Memorial title, the fact that he looked so much more comfortable compared to Friday will be a relief to his multitude of admirers. When asked how much better he felt, Woods replied: “A lot. I felt more like I did the first day [when he also shot a 71] and that's just the way it is. Overall I felt like I played well today, controlled the ball well.” Woods described himself as “fortunate” to make the cut after two late birdies in his second-round 76, because he was desperate to get “a couple more rounds in me competitively”. Yet therein lies the 44 year-old’s great conundrum as the season’s first major approaches in three weeks time. This is only Woods’ third event of 2020 and while the three-months coronavirus hiatus has been largely to blame for his inactivity, it should be remembered that he had pulled out of three events, including The Players, just before the pandemic siren sounded. The reason why was a sore back and Woods has always been honest in warning that since his spinal fusion of 2017, he has to be sparing in his competitive appearances. So does that mean he will go straight to the USPGA Championship in San Francisco without another prep event, despite realising his game plainly needs it? “Playing at home and playing out here is so very different,” Woods said, after a round featuring four birdies and three bogeys advanced him to two-over. “Making sure that I stay sharp and don't make any silly mistakes and dump the ball in the wrong spots or give myself bad angles, that's one of the things about playing competitive golf... getting back into the flow and competing again and playing at this level, I hadn't done that in a while.” At the very least, Woods must be tempted to sign up for the WGC FedEX St Jude Invitational in Memphis, the week before the USPGA. TPC Southwind is not a tough track and with Woods’ remarkable World Golf Championship haul of 18 titles (Dustin Johnson has the next most with six) it should be ideal to hone his game before Harding Park. But will his body be able to handle two tournaments in as many weeks and will he really want to go from the 95F degree heat of Tennessee to the 65F of San Francisco? It will be intriguing to see what he decides, although right now, after the evidence of his first 54 holes in more than five months, it is difficult to envisage him contending for a 15th major. Playing alongside Woods, Brooks Koepka has his own injury concerns. After posting a 73 to stand at four-over, the world No 6 revealed that he had a scan on his left knee at the start of the week and that accounts for a mediocre spell that has seen him record just one top 10 in his last seven starts.
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