FIFTEEN major championships have come and gone without Tiger Woods being able to close the gap of four on Jack Nicklaus’ record total of 18, but there are definite signs – appropriately enough at the Golden Bear's own Memorial Tournament in Ohio – that Woods is almost primed for a second coming.
After a birdie at his opening hole in the third round, Woods briefly held sole possession of the lead, but although he lost a bit of momentum with two bogies in three holes after the turn, he was still in there with a real chance of victory today.
Woods’ descent into mortality has involved two-and-a-half years of trying to rebuild his swing, his knees, and his not very private life, but less than two weeks ahead of the US Open – the last major on his CV back in 2008 – he was right up there in contention in an event he has already won four times.
He began the third round one shot behind the overnight leader Rory Sabbatini, rather than, as some expected, another Rory. While Woods’ graph is on the up, McIlroy is travelling in the opposite direction with three consecutive missed cuts, and has just one tournament to get his game back before the defence of his US Open title in San Francisco.
Woods is emerging as a serious contender for the season’s second major after a swing rebuild that has had the commentators confused with their “he’s gone”, “he’s back”, “he’s lost it”, “he’s back again” pronouncements. But on the evidence of the past three days, he’s more in control of his game than he has been for a long time. The one part of his game that still requires attention is his putting, especially from 15 feet and in. During his prime, those were the putts he holed for fun, but he has missed a succession of them at Muirfield Village.
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The biggest improvement in Woods’ game, after many months locked away with his latest swing coach Sean Foley, is that he appears (for the moment at least) to have eliminated those destructive shots – especially off the tee. He was 40th in fairways hit over the opening two rounds, which doesn’t sound that brilliant, but it’s unusually good for Woods.
The surprise leader well into the third round was American Spencer Levin, who seems to hit every shot he plays just as hard as he possibly can - it is the sort of swing that looks like it must disintegrate under pressure but he drove well during round three, putted solidly and even managed to hole a chip - his third of the tournament.