The wind is bitter with the temperature dropping by 10 degrees… The pain in the injured leg seems to have gotten worse
limping around 12 over par 76th
McIlroy: “If I were Nara, I would withdrew in the second round… It proves that he has strong mental power.”
“Nothing done right.”
Tiger Woods (47, USA), “the king of golf,” said this following putting his last putt on the 18th hole of the 3rd round of the PGA Championship held at Southern Hills Country Club (par 70) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA on the 22nd. And he withdrew from the competition.
Woods, who had shown strong confidence before the opening of the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, said, “I think I can win,” withdrew during the tournament. It is the first time Woods has abandoned his major since his 1996 PGA Tour debut. Woods withdrew following injured his wrist during the second round of the 1995 U.S. Open as an amateur. After finishing the third round of the day, Woods said, “It hurts. I’ll see what happens to the (injured area).” Woods severely injured his right shin bone in a car accident last February. At the time, the American media reported that the injury was serious enough to endanger his life.
Woods shot a 9-over-par 79 with one birdie, seven bogeys, and one triple bogey in the third round. He collapsed with five straight bogeys on holes 9-13. “I mightn’t get out of the bogey streak,” Woods said. 79 in one round is Woods’ worst record in the PGA Championship. Looking at the overall major tournament, it is the third poorest performance following the 3rd round of the British Open in 2002 (10 over par 81) and the 1st round of the 2015 US Open (10 over par 80). On the PGA Tour, 85 strokes (13 over par) in the third round of the 2015 Memorial Tournament is the most. Robert McIntyre (26, Scotland, 80) is the only player with more strokes than Woods in the third round.
Before dropping out, Woods was tied for 76th with a 12-over-par 222 in the third round. Woods, who was tied for 99th out of 156 with a 4-over par in the first round, reduced one stroke in the second round and passed the cut with a tie for 53rd. Woods tried to climb the ranks in the third round, but the weather didn’t help. The daytime temperature was 15 degrees, regarding 10 degrees lower than the previous day, and the wind was strong. As Woods walked while limping his leg during the match, he often made a look that seemed to feel pain in his leg. Woods declined to comment on whether he would play in the US Open, the third major of the season, which begins on June 16.
Fellow players were sorry for Woods’s resignation and comforted him. Rory McIlroy (33, Northern Ireland), who was in the same group as Woods in the first and second rounds, said, “Woods is incredibly strong mentally. If I had been Woods, I would have thought of giving up following the second round. “Woods has proven that it’s different.” In the third round, Sean Norris (40, South Africa), who was in the same group with Woods, said, “I’m sorry. But Woods showed what kind of player he was.”
By Kim Dong-wook, staff reporter [email protected]
