Tiger Woods will take a seven shot lead into the final round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone. Woods, who leaped seven clear after an extraordinary 61 on Friday, maintained that advantage after a third round of 68 that keeps him ahead of a distant chasing pack that is headed by the in-form Henrik Stenson. Woods will begin his final round on Sunday seeking his eighth title at Firestone, his fifth win of the 2013 season, and his 79th victory overall on the PGA Tour, which would take him to within three of the late Sam Snead’s record of 82.
Having found himself seven clear after Friday, the 14-time major champion was in the almost awkward situation of being just that little bit too far clear with 36-holes remaining. Less experienced players would struggle with what approach they should take into the round, whether to be conservative or aggressive, but Woods utilised his own seasoned mentality and navigated his away around Firestone’s South Course in a largely ideal fashion.
Entering his third round, Woods would quickly dispel any realistic opportunity that the field had on catching him up. Starting with a birdie at the 1st, he followed it up with another at the 2nd and moved eight shots clear to set the tone for an afternoon during which he would lead by no less than seven. With a bogey at the 9th completing a front-nine of 34, Woods would birdie the 10th and continue on what was largely a procession. Woods reflected on the importance of that strong start:
“I birdied the first two right out of the gate, and I figured if I could somehow just keep the card clean and not make any bogeys and maybe throw a couple more in there, it would be a pretty good day.”
With his game understandably not quite as sharp as the previous day, Woods did produce one particular magical moment when it looked as though he was about to let things slip a little. Facing a difficult up-and down on the 13th, Woods would produce a moment of sheer brilliance and hole out from off the green to extend his lead once again. Chinks in his armour would show with bogeys at the 14th and 16th, but any possibility of a late stumble was removed with a birdie at the 17th and a fine scrambled par on the 18th.
His 68 may have felt ordinary to watch, but that was largely due to the brilliance that was presented on Friday. He may not have played anywhere near as sublimely as he had the day prior, but he scored effectively around a Firestone layout that once again proved to be far more testing than Tiger’s 15-under total of 195 would suggest. Woods achieved exactly what was required in breaking 70 and maintaining his significant advantage.
"Today was a day that I didn't quite have it, but I scored. Just tried to build on my lead somehow. I was just trying to post something in the red. It was blowing today, I figured anything in the red would be a good number,” said the world number one.
“The name of the game is posting a number, and I did today; grinded my way around that golf course. It was playing a little blustery. As smooth as yesterday was, as difficult as today was, it's just one of those things where I was just trying to build on my lead somehow, and for most of the day I was doing that. It ended up being a dead push for the day, but that's not too bad either.”
Henrik Stenson is Woods’ nearest challenger, and will partner the world number one in the final round. The Swede continued his excellent recent form that has seen him finish in a tie for third in the Scottish Open, and a runner-up to Phil Mickelson at the 142nd Open Championship a fortnight ago. The popular 37-year-old, who fell to as low as 230th in the Official World Golf Rankings 18 months ago, is showing the sensational form that took him to as high as fourth in the world just a handful of years ago.
The likeable Stenson, who shot 67 on Saturday to get within seven of Woods, is excited about the prospect of playing alongside Tiger tomorrow, and maintains that he is going to simply play his own game and see where it takes him:
“He's obviously playing great, and it'll be a good test, a good measurement. We might just be there for watching the final victory lap - we'll see tomorrow - but I can only do so much. I can play my game and see where that takes me.”
Woods is 54-2 when holding at least the share of the lead after 54-holes, and the largest lead he has ever lost from that position was a mere two shots to Y.E. Yang at the 2009 PGA Championship. Arguably the greatest front-runner in the history of the professional game, the chance of Woods’ name not being inscribed on the trophy for an eighth occasion is extremely unlikely, even for the most ardent of cynics. It would require a combination of an excellent round from one of the chasing pack, and an almost unprecedented disaster from Woods. While the first half of that recipe is more than possible, it’s very difficult to make a reasonable case against Woods claiming victory tomorrow.
Looking ahead to Sunday, Tiger responded to a question asking whether he would play more defensively in the final round considering his sizeable advantage: “I’ll just go out there and execute my game plan. Whatever game plan I'm going to implement tomorrow, just go execute it.
“It all starts with what the weather is doing, and then I build it from there, and we'll see what I do tomorrow.”
However, anything can happen in this game, and situations can change dramatically quickly, but another strong start from Woods would officially turn this WGC Bridgestone Invitational into a contest for second. Of course, that’s if it wasn’t already.