Heading to the 17th hole, Tiger Woods was tied with Lee Westwood at 2-under, both fighting off the obstinate Muirfield course at The Open, sharing a slim, tenuous lead on the rest of the field. But on his second shot, Woods hit it into the bunker and came away with a bogey. That loss of a stroke came at the most inopportune time, as Westwood coolly knocked in a birdie, opening up a two-stroke lead.
Although Tiger is as close to the lead in a major after 54 holes since his 2008 win at the US Open, he's still faces down the challenge of doing something he hasn't yet throughout his career — come from behind for a win at a major. As far as competition goes, that's his career blemish.
We know it, the field knows it, Westwood knows it…Tiger definitely knows it.
At any rate, he played it nonchalant and offered a few maxims after Round 3:
“I'm looking forward to the challenge of it. I've been in this position before in the past five years, and I've been in the hunt. And I'm in it again. Hopefully tomorrow I can play well and win the tournament.”
It's show-n-prove time.
