Tiger Woods shot 40 on his front nine and rallied for a 73, at least finishing The Players Championship under par. That was the smallest of consolations. Far more alarming was that he tied for 40th, the first time in his career that he has finished no better than 40th in three straight tournaments. The streak began after a five-shot win at Bay Hill for his first PGA Tour title in 30 months.
"Just keep working. Keep working," Woods said when asked what he could take out of the week.
Na had a three-shot lead early in the final round with a birdie on the second, but he fell apart quickly. There were waggles and a few whiffs as part of his painful pre-shot routine, but there were far too many shots in the wrong spot for him to have a chance. He made four bogeys in five holes to close out the front nine in 39, and his hopes ended with a tee shot into the water on the par-three13th. Na closed with a 76 to tie for seventh, five shots behind.
In the six years since The Players Championship moved from March to May and featured faster conditions, the 54-hole leader has never won and has never shot better than 74 in the final round. The average score for the third-round leader since 2007 is now 76.3.
Few of the others faced a week like Na, especially hearing it from the fans.
"I deserve it," he said. "I mean, I'm being honest. But is it fair? No. You put an average guy in between those ropes, trust me, they won't even pull it back."
