While the top story of the day was Tiger Woods shooting a career high 44 for nine holes at Muirfield Village, Matt Kuchar shot a third round two-under par 70 that put him two strokes clear of the field at the Memorial Tournament.
Kuchar played a solid round in warm windy conditions over a very difficult golf course. Bill Haas who held the lead over night at the Memorial posted a third round four-over par 76 and fell to three shots behind the leader.
As usual Tiger Woods was the lead story of the third round. He posted the worst nine-hole score of his career on the back nine at Muirfield Village.
After pars on Nos. 10 and 11, he found the front bunker on the par-3, No. 12. He was forced to play out sideways away from the hole and three putted for his first double-bogey of the day.
He made pars at Nos. 13 and 14, but for the second straight day found trouble at No. 15. He pulled his second shot to the par-5 left of the green, which is completely dead. After a flubbed chip shot he chipped long downhill across the green, three putts later he collected his second double-bogey in four holes.
Woods also made bogey at No. 17, but the real capper came at the par-4, No. 18.
He hit a beautiful drive over the bunkers and into the center of the fairway just 138 yards from the fairway at his ninth hole. The pin was set back right of the green, atop a steep false front. Woods approach came up just a few feet short of the top of the slope and trundled back down off the green and ended up 30 yards back down the fairway.
Woods unwisely tried to attack the pin with a high, soft shot for his third into the tricky pin placement. It too failed to make the crest of the slope and he was forced to watch as the ball, once again, rolled back down into the fairway.
He finally hit his fourth shot four feet past the hole, which proved to be no bargain. The treacherous putt was downwind, downhill and extremely fast. Woods missed the first putt and had a longer one coming back. He missed the return and ended with a triple-bogey seven, when he was only 138 yards from the green in the middle of the fairway with his tee shot.
The old line from the movie, Tin Cup comes to mind. How did Tiger Woods shoot a 44 on the back nine at Muirfield Village Golf Club? Well he missed a five-foot putt for double-bogey on No. 18.
Muirfield Village giveth and Muirfield Village taketh away. The course has yeilded five wins to Woods in the past, but got its revenge today.
Woods shot one-under par 35 on the front side for a 79. He is T-69 in the 73-man field that made the cut.
No. 2 in the world Rory McIlroy is not faring much better at the Memorial. He barely made the cut after his second round was disrupted by a weather delay late Friday and forced him to finish his final four holes on Saturday. He has shot 78-69-75, is six-over par for the tournament and is T-64.
While the leaders are teeing off on No. 1 on Sunday, Woods and McIlroy will be starting on No. 10 hoping to get these four days behind them and move on to Merion for the U.S. Open in two weeks.