Springfield, N.J. – If only Tiger Woods had birdied the two par-5 finishing holes during the third round of the 87th PGA Championship. Heck, if only he had played Nos. 17 and 18 in better than a net score of just 1-under par for the four rounds.
If only …
“If I did that, playing golf would drive me crazy,” Woods said Sunday, moments after completing a final-round 68 at Baltusrol. “Every guy who plays golf, if they did a ‘what if?’ especially out here on the tour, you’d drive yourself crazy.
“The only thing you can do is take a learning experience from it, positives and negatives, and apply them to the future.”
Woods finished with a 72-hole score of 2-under 278 and is the clubhouse leader. He will need some help today in order to hold the lead. Phil Mickelson sits at 4-under with a short par putt remaining on No. 14.
Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn are 3-under. Elkington has three holes to play; Bjorn has four.
And Woods could get passed by others.
“I wish I could have shot a couple of more shots lower and posted that, but you never know,” Woods said.
Woods needed a hot start but drove into the rough on No. 1 and made bogey. He also bogeyed the third hole, with a three-putt, and didn’t record his first birdie until No. 8, when he lofted a short approach to within 3 feet of the pin.
Woods hit only one of his first five fairways and hit only two fairways on the front nine. After two early bogeys, Woods played his last 15 holes in 4-under.
“This golf course ain’t easy,” said Woods, who put himself in a hole with an opening-round 75. “I wish I would have gotten off to a better start.”
Only once in PGA Championship history has a player overcome a seven-stroke deficit in the final round to win. John Mahaffey claimed the 1978 title in a playoff at Oakmont after trailing third-round leader Tom Watson by seven strokes.
Unless Woods gets some help today, it appears Mahaffey will continue to hold that distinction by himself.
Clubbing
Steve Schneiter, an assistant pro at Pebblebrook Golf Links, a family-owned facility in Sandy, Utah, earned low club-pro honors at 6-over. He shot even-par 70 on Sunday.
Schneiter, 41, tied for seventh three weeks ago in the Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch. Sunday at Baltusrol, he eagled the 554-yard 18th after hitting a 6-iron to within 15 feet.
“I fell in love with this golf course early in the week,” said Schneiter, who beat his Sunday playing partner, Luke Donald, by four strokes.
Footnotes
On Saturday, the hottest day of the tournament with an official high of 101 degrees at Baltusrol, 157 people were treated for symptoms of heat exhaustion. Four of those were transported to area hospitals and later released. The heat index Saturday rose to 105 degrees. … Despite the presence of 25 club pros, the PGA Championship can argue it leads the four majors in quality of the field. Of the world’s top 100 players, 93 competed at Baltusrol. The PGA Championship has drawn at least 90 of the top 100 in each of the past seven years. … The number of club pros in the field will be reduced to 20 for the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club near Chicago. … Third- round co-leaders Mickelson and Davis Love III have more in common than holding one major championship. They are the only multiple winners of The International, having each won twice at Castle Pines.
