Third day to forget Rahm (76) and Woods (79), who are still not over

Bad day at the office for sure Jon Rahm this Saturday, on the third day -the ‘day of transition’- of PGA in the Southern Hills (Tulsa, Okla.) and worse, worse for Tiger Woodswho wasn’t sure if he could finish the tournament because of the physical problems he had after his accident and subsequent surgery 15 months ago.

The Basque, in a day to forget, signed six bogeys for no birdie, it is true that he threw very good putts more or less clear chances were presented to him and the ball, literally, was not felt to enter the hole, either because it was spit out by the side of the hole – to complete the mess, as well as in the 18th hole – or because it was hanging in the pot. The true and verifiable thing is that Jon signed 76 hits for 218 (+8), a world of first positions.

You don’t have to think too much about Jon’s card. Nothing has happened since the first shot at 1. He needed seven holes to hit the first driving fairway –his ally on Thursday and Friday- and he closed out the deadly day by making three putts on the 18th with reasonable birdie option.

Rahm had no signed birdies on 18 holes, the third time in his career that something like this had happened to him at the Grand Slams. The two previous occasions have been: second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he made 77 shots, and day four of the 2017 PGA Championship in Quail Hollow (Charlotte), where he finished 75. Southern Hills was the third course on the list and In less than a month he defended the US Open title.

Tiger, after playing well on the second nine holes on Friday to almost miss the cut — you have to see how he prevented getting the pair in incredible ways —, this Saturday he disappeared from the map after surviving a nightmare, with seven bogeys, a triple bogey and a solitary birdie for 79 strokes and 222 (+12).

Playing his second tournament on his return from a career -threatening car accident, making the cut is something to celebrate, but Woods is a shadow of his former self on the day of the move and although most are cheering him on with every tee and green, the former world number 1 once again ended up in loneliness and misery on a day that included wind, cold and humidity, what was bad for his battered leg.

The prowess Woods showed on Friday was completely ruined on Saturday, as the 15-time major winner faced the physio without hesitation, when asked if he looked physically capable of playing in the final round. “I’m hurting. We’re going to do some recovery and see how it goes,” he said.

Tiger, 46, made no excuses. “I just didn’t play well. I didn’t hit the ball too much and I didn’t get the start I needed. I thought my tee shot was good at 2 and I went into the water. I didn’t have any kind of momentum from my side. I didn’t hit a lot of good shots and as a result I ended up with a pretty high score. “

He admitted that he ended the lap extremely annoyed and did not guarantee his participation on the final day. It must be so bad if it doesn’t show up on the 1st tee. Better conditions are also expected. The cold will continue, but not as much as now and most of all, no rain is expected. There was no comfort in the last nine holes. “I couldn’t get off the bogey train. I just didn’t do anything right,” Tiger admits.