Tracking Tiger: Can Tiger Woods make a move on Saturday at The Open Championship?

Adam Woodard USA TODAY

Published 3:29 p.m. UTC Jul 21, 2018

After a top-five finish earlier this month at the Quicken Loans National, Tiger Woods is back on the course this week looking for his first major championship victory since the 2008 U.S. Open.

The 14-time major champion is competing in golf's third major, The Open Championship, this week at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Tiger opened play on Thursday with an even par 71, and followed suit with another 71 on Friday.

Tiger last played The Open in 2015, missing the cut and finishing 137th. His career at Carnoustie includes a T47 at the 1995 Scottish Open, he missed the cut the following year, then finished T7 at the 1999 Open Championship and T12 at the 2007 Open.

Tiger tees off at 8:15 a.m. ET alongside Shaun Norris. Follow along for shot-by-shot analysis of his third round.

Hole 15 - Par 4

Iron for Tiger off the tee and he finds the fairway. With a 13 mph wind at his back, Tiger has 209-yards left and goes with 7-iron. This lands on the green and runs a few more feet, within 20, for another birdie. He had the right speed, just the wrong line. He misses this one just right but taps in for par. 6-under thru 15 (6-under for the tournament).

Leaderboard update: Kevin Chappell dropped a stroke, but Tommy Fleetwood picked one up to join Tiger, Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at 6-under.

Hole 14 - Par 5

Aggressive swing with driver here for TW and this one goes just a little right. Tiger's approach finds the green, but he's got work to do for eagle. If he somehow drops the putt, he'll have the lead. He took a long look at this one and it pays off. This never broke enough left for him, but finishes a foot from the hole. He taps in for birdie to tie the lead and is now 6-under thru 14 (6-under for the tournament).

The other leaders: Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Kevin Chappell.

Hole 13 - Par 3

8-iron from 155-yards out here for Tiger, and he lands this just short of pin high, about 30-some feet from the hole. Safe, useful shot. Tiger's putt rolls one inch to the left of the cup and he can't believe it didn't fall. Par. 5-under thru 13 (5-under for the tournament).

Leaderboard update: Jordan Spieth is going full-Jordan Spieth today in his title defense at The Open. He implored his ball to stop on a dime and it did, leaving a birdie putt to tie the lead with Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at 6-under.

Hole 12 - Par 4

Left-center fairway for Tiger off the tee with an iron on No. 12. Smart shot with bunkers all over the place on this hole, but it's an interesting decision. He's been playing aggressively the last few holes, and instead of trying to ride that momentum and maybe make a mistake, he goes back to the conservative play now that he's just one shot off the lead. From 251-yards out, he goes a little long and finds the fringe just off the green. Great roll here from Tiger with the putter. His ball took a little hop coming off the fringe and comes to rest a few feet from the cup. Par. 5-under thru 12 (5-under for the tournament).

Leaderboard update: 30 players are within four shots of leaders Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson at 6-under. Seven players are tied for third at 5-under: Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Pat Perez, Kevin Chappell and Patrick Cantlay.

Hole 11 - Par 4

He's cruising now. Tiger goes driver again and smashes this down the fairway and almost drives the green! He comes up just short of a bunker to the left and will have an easy wedge onto the green for another great scoring chance. Tiger putts this one from the fairway and it runs up a few feet from the hole for another birdie chance to get within one shot of the leaders. That drops for his third birdie in a row, 5-under thru 11 (5-under for the tournament).

Hole 10 - Par 4

Here he comes. Tiger goes driver for the first time this week on No. 10 and twirls the club while walking off the tee box. This is way down the fairway on the right side. WOW. This one almost holes out, landing just inches from the cup. That's a gimme when you're playing with friends and Tiger taps in for birdie. 4-under thru 10 (4-under for the tournament).

Elsewhere on the course: While Tiger was teeing off on No. 10, Jordan Spieth drove the green on the first hole and began his round by walking in an eagle putt that circled around the cup. Today is going to be a lot of fun.

Thoughts at the turn

Under par on the front heading to the back ... sound familiar? Tiger's in the same position he was in Thursday before wasting a solid round with a poor performance on the back. Not being able to close out tournaments, or rounds for that matter, has been a massive struggle for Tiger in this latest comeback. He's avoided mistakes for the most part today, but he needs to go low on the back to apply some pressure and climb the leaderboard.

Hole 9 - Par 4

Driver here for Tiger and wow is this smoked. Unfortunately, it's a little left in the rough. He's been conservative all day, but still four shots back with the leaders still waiting to tee off, Tiger might start picking up the pace and taking some chances here. With 170-yards left from the fescue, Tiger catches it pretty clean and finds the center of the green. BANG! Tiger drops the long birdie putt to get to 3-under on the front nine (3-under for the tournament).

Hole 8 - Par 3

Tiger got aggressive with this one but comes up just short and left off the green. He goes with putter here and comes up just inches short of the cup. He was walking away getting ready to fist pump if it dropped but instead its another par. 2-under thru 8 (2-under for the tournament).

Hole 7 - Par 4

The weather is just perfect today at Carnoustie, and Tiger is back to his conservative game. Another perfect iron off the tee finds the fairway. He's not as dialed in as Thursday, but this was another solid approach shot from Tiger. He finds the front of the green, about 10-or-so feet from the pin for another birdie opportunity. This one doesn't drop, but no matter, still a par. 2-under thru 7 (2-under for the tournament).

Hole 6 - Par 5

B-e-a-utiful drive from Tiger on No. 6. He starts it left and brings it back right, landing deep down the fairway. His approach just climbs up onto the front of the green, but the back pin location leaves a lengthy eagle putt with a massive hill in his line. His putt takes a big break left off the slope and carries towards the hole but not nearly enough. It comes up inside 8 feet, and Tiger buries the birdie. He's 2-under thru 6 (2-under for the tournament).

Hole 5 - Par 4

Iron off the tee for Tiger and this one is in the fairway down the left side. His approach is good, not great, finding the green but nowhere near the hole. He's got 42-feet with a slope in his way, but it doesn't have a lot of break. A complete misread and mishit here, going long and right, leaving some work to do to save par. He drops the putt to stay at 1-under thru 5 (1-under for the tournament).

Hole 4 - Par 4

Tiger goes 3-wood here and crushes it just short of 300 yards. He's hitting well off the tee early, which was his main problem yesterday. His approach shot at the back-pin is fantastic, checking up within 8 feet for a great look at birdie. No doubt about that one! A confident, strong stroke drops the birdie putt. 1-under thru 4 (1-under for the tournament).

Hole 3 - Par 4

Tiger paints the middle of the fairway with this one. No. 4 is playing a bit shorter today, and to avoid some bunkers he pulled 7-iron from the bag. That's correct, he just hit a 7-iron off the tee on a par 4. His approach finds the green, but he's got some distance left, leaving about 30-some feet for birdie. Tiger took this one for a ride over a slope and with some heavy break but just misses the hole. Another par. Even thru 3 (Even for the tournament).

Hole 2 - Par 4

Driver off the tee for Tiger and this one is crushed 316 yards down the fairway. Flip wedge from there and Tiger tucks it within 10 feet for a birdie chance. He didn't have the right line as this one just misses the right edge of the cup. Tap-in par. Even thru 2 (Even for the tournament).

Hole 1 - Par 4

Iron off the tee on No. 1 for Tiger and he stripes this one down the right side of the fairway, but the ball trickles just into the first cut rough. Tiger loses this one long and left in the thick rough. His chip is pretty solid, finding the green with about 10 feet left to save par, and save par he does. Even thru 1 (Even for the tournament).

Leaderboard update: Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner are still tied atop the leaderboard at 6-under, but Chris Wood has made a run. He's 6-under thru 14 holes and is at 4-under for the tournament. The best round of the day, however, belongs to Justin Rose, whose 7-under 64 (one shot off the course record held by Tommy Fleetwood) also has him at 4-under and just two shots off the lead.

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