Mammoth Blog

Tiger Woods has not played his best golf at the 2009 United States Open, and after the third round concluded Sunday, he readily acknowledged his inconsistency.

"Your score doesn't tell you everything about your game, but it does tell you a lot," he said after shooting a two-under-par 68 in the third round. "And while I've been content with my ball-striking, I haven't made any putts.

"So, yes, I have played better than my score indicates, but at this point you look at where you are on the leader board and that tells you something, too."

Looking ahead to whether he could still contend for the championship, Woods said, "I would have to play a great round and get some help."

During the fourth round, which began Sunday night, Woods birdied the seventh hole to improve his score for the tournament to even par. He was trailing the leaders, Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover, by seven strokes.

On Sunday, Woods lamented the final four holes of his first round, which were played in difficult conditions, with wind and rain. Woods was even par through 14 holes, but then double-bogeyed the 15th and bogeyed the 16th and the 18th for a 74.

"I finished that round off very poorly," Woods said. "That put me so far back, I've really been chasing ever since. I might be in a different place with a better finish there."

Like many of the players, Woods said the ever-evolving schedule of this year's event, which has been plagued by bad weather, has left him weary.

"Most of us can't remember what day it is let alone what round we're playing," he said, laughing. "But what are you going to do? You keep going."

COARSE FANS The boisterous nature of fans near the 10th tee box has been a topic of conversation at Bethpage Black this week, with newspaper stories about the fans being inebriated and insulting.

Phil Mickelson, the fan favorite, had nothing bad to say about the fans Sunday, and neither did Tiger Woods. Asked specifically about the scene at the 10th tee, Woods smiled and said: "They had a little to sip, I think. But they've been great. I think very respectful. They can say whatever they want as long as they don't yell during our swings. And they haven't. They haven't done anything like that." source>>>