(By Bob Harig) DUBLIN, Ohio — Playing solo before thousands of spectators early Sunday morning, Tiger Woods tried to treat as normal as possible a round of golf that was both surreal for him and for those watching.
Never before had Woods been in such a position — first off, alone, the penalty for being last in a field of 71 players — and left to finish off a tournament that will go down as one of his worst.
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Woods shot an otherwise meaningless 2-over-par 74 — 11 strokes better than his career-worst 85 on Saturday.
He played the last two holes in 3-over with a double-bogey at the last — to complete his 15th Memorial Tournament in 302 strokes at 14-over par, his highest 72-hole total ever.
The round took 2 hours, 51 minutes. At one point on the 17th green, Woods took out the flagstick, putted, and put it back in while caddie Joe LaCava raked a bunker. There was no one else there to do it.
“Just trying to shoot under par; just go out there and shoot the best score I possibly can,” Woods said when asked what was at stake in a tournament where he finished more than two-and-a-half hours before leader Justin Rose was to tee off — and 29 strokes behind him.
“Just because I’m in last place doesn’t change how I play golf. Whether it’s the first day or last day doesn’t matter, play all out.”
Tiger Woods was first off Sunday in the final round at the Memorial following his “painful” third-round 85. Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports
Woods did that, studying putts, checking his yardage book with LaCava, getting frustrated at the bad shots and trying to make the best of the situation.
He got to 3-under par for his round with a birdie at the 11th hole, looking far better than he did than shooting the big number on Saturday. But he couldn’t finish. The back nine gave him fits all week, especially the final two holes, playing them in 12-over par for the tournament.
His six double bogeys or worse are the most of any tournament in his career.
The 18th was particularly gruesome — two doubles, and a quad. The only par came on Friday, when he needed to get up and down to make the 36-hole cut on the number.
This was just Woods’ fifth tournament of the year, his best finish a tie for 17th at the Masters two months ago. He missed a cut in Phoenix, withdrew in San Diego and was also tied for 69th at the Players Championship.
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