Tiger Woods took complete control of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, after an extraordinary day during which he sought to add himself into the history books. Woods was nine-under through 13 holes on the par 70 South Course at Firestone Country Club, requiring to play his final five holes in 2-under to become just the sixth player in the history of the PGA Tour to record a magical round of 59.
However, after scrambling for par on the 14th, Woods would miss from nine feet on the 15th for birdie, before missing by six feet on the 17th, having to settle for a par that ended his chances of breaking 60 for the first time in competitive play. But the drama would continue for Woods, after an errant drive on the 18th, that threatened to paint a negative gloss on what was a special round, would make a 25-footer for par on the final hole to post a round of 61, which ties the lowest tournament round of his career, and provides him with a seven-shot-lead on the field as he seeks an eighth WGC Bridgestone Invitational title.
“I had it going today, four under through three is always a nice thing to have.” Said the 14-time major champion who, when asked if he was not disappointed not to shoot the magical number, responded:
“A 61's pretty good. I'm not bummed. Would it have been nice to shoot 59? Yeah, it would have been nice. I certainly had the opportunity. I had five holes to go, but I was only 9-under par. It's different when you have to get to 13 and things of that nature to shoot 59. But I just had two more out of five holes. I just didn't do it.”
It’s a 61 that matches the course record at the South Course, one of the most revered venues in the United States. Jose Maria Olazabal first set that mark in 1990, before Woods did the same a decade later in the second round of an eventual 11-shot winning performance. Those were the days when Woods appeared to separate himself from his peers almost every week, and today had that ominous feeling about it.
Naturally, given that he missed excellent opportunities during the closing holes for birdie, Woods was questioned about how relaxed he felt on the course knowing that an historic opportunity was in his hands:
“The funny thing is I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The good news is I have shot it before. To do that at the time at my course, you had to be 13 deep to do it. I was only 9 today at that point. I've been 10-, 11-under par before out here, so to be 9 is nothing that was uncomfortable or unusual. If I had to get to 13, it would be a different story; that's a lot. But just a couple more coming in, I had two opportunities to make a couple putts there at 15 and 17, so it certainly was an opportunity, but when you're playing a par-70, it's certainly a lot easier.”
Woods has shot 61 on three previous occasions; at the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic, the 2005 Buick Open and at Firestone in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2000. He famously shot a 59 in practice at Isleworth a week before the 1997 Masters Tournament, where he would shatter records in an historic victory at Augusta National. Although he came up short on a new career-best, the 37-year-old was extremely proud of the way he compiled his score on a day where the next lowest score was 66, with the field averaging 71.1.
“I felt I was in total control of my game. Obviously things like that don't happen every day, and it's fun when it all comes together and I was able to take advantage of it, especially on a golf course like this. This is not exactly an easy golf course. As you can see, 6-under is in second, so the guys aren't tearing this apart. And the fact that I was able to shoot what I shot today, I'm very proud of that.”
Woods had started with birdie-eagle-birdie, finding himself at 4-under through his opening three holes. He would later add a birdie at the 7th, before ramping up expectation with four consecutive birdies between the 10th and 13th. Ultimately, though, Woods’ primary focus was attempting to extend his lead by as large a margin as possible:
“I'm very happy I was able to post that. I just kept thinking, you know, whatever lead I had, let's just keep increasing this lead.”
Woods is at 13-under, and seven shots clear of defending champion Keegan Bradley and England’s Chris Wood. With overnight thunderstorms forecast, tee times have been pushed back to 11am, with the players in threesomes going off the 1st and the 10th. Despite the dominant advantage he has earned himself, Woods is well aware that there are 36-holes remaining and a Championship still needs to be won.
“We have a long ways to go,” Woods said. “The 61 put me in a nice position going into the weekend.”
It’s a strong position, and one that makes him odds-on favourite to win for the eighth time at Firestone, and for the fifth time this season. Today looked very much like the Tiger of old, and he will hope that form continues throughout this weekend and into next week’s 95th PGA Championship.