Tiger Woods frustrated after inconsistent third round at Quicken Loans National

Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Published 6:25 p.m. ET June 30, 2018 | Updated 6:35 p.m. ET June 30, 2018

POTOMAC, Md. — Somehow, despite 95-degree temperatures that left him sweating so profusely that caddie Joe LaCava had to retrieve three more dry towels from the courtesy car, Tiger Woods needed a bit of time to warm his game up.

Then he became lit.

Then somehow, he cooled off. More aptly, he flamed out at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.

What has become his modus operandi this year, Woods was left shaking his head and pondering what could have been after a round of golf, his latest being the third round of the Quicken Loans National. It was another one of those rounds that began with so much promise but ended in disappointment.

The Tiger of old would have shot 64, perhaps a 63. This year’s Tiger shot 68. And now, after once being two shots off the lead midway through Saturday, Woods will start Sunday’s final round six shots back.

On the front 9, Tiger was a Bengal tiger, doing Tiger things again and electrifying huge galleries that roared in delight despite the scalding conditions. Ignited by a 13-footer for par on the third, Woods ripped off four consecutive birdies, from 7, 7, 12 and 8 feet, as he put on a clinic of power, precision and putting. It was the first time since 2015 that Woods made four consecutive birdies. He had his game on point and some bounce in his step.

More: Tiger Tracker: How Woods fared in the third round

After a bogey on the eighth when he airmailed the green coming out of the rough, he rammed home a 26-footer on the ninth for his fifth birdie on the front and made the turn looking ready to devour the leaders.

But then the Bengal Tiger turned into a kitten. As he said, he “stuffed” his approach to 8 feet on the 10th and stuffed his approach to 9 feet on the 11th. But he missed both birdie putts. Then he left his 20-footer for birdie on the 12th one inch short and the pep in his step seemed to fade.

Then it got worse. He missed the fairway on the short 13th with a 4-iron and made bogey. He drove just past the green on the par-4 14th with 3-wood but chipped well past the hole and settled for par.

After missing from 21 feet on 15, his last birdie, from 5 feet, came on the 16th. Unfortunately, his last bogey came on the 18th when he hit a poor drive and eventually missed from 8 feet for par.

“It was frustrating because I played better than what my score indicates,” Woods said, a familiar refrain he has used before this year. “It was frustrating because I thought that 10 under would have been a good score for me to end up at for the day and I could have easily gotten that today on the back nine.”

Instead, he finished at 7 under and trails Francesco Molinari and Abraham Ancer by six. Molinari shot his second consecutive 65 to move to 13 under while Ancer shot his career-low round, a 62, which tied the tournament course record. Woods could have threatened that record, too, if he had kept rolling.

“I messed up at 13, 14,” Woods said. “Two sloppy holes there back-to-back and it cost me a little bit of momentum coming in.”

His putting was a tale of two 9s, too – solid on the front, just a bit off on the back. Every putt he missed on the back nine save for one missed on the high side, meaning he gave those putts just a bit too much oomph and the ball through the line.

“Frustrating,” Woods said.

Woods will need two Saturday front 9s on Sunday to win his 80th title. If he turns in two Saturday back 9s, he has no chance. His chances will increase if the course is left to dry out and firms up, which will make par a coveted score. If water is put on the course because of the heat, scores will be low, making it tougher to catch the leaders.

Either way, Woods just doesn’t want to wonder what could have been again when he signs his scorecard on Sunday.