Woods hopes to still be within reach at Arnold Palmer Invitational

It was a mixed third round for Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, made up of six birdies and three bogeys for a three-under 69.

Published : Mar 18, 2018 02:42 IST

Tiger Woods hopes to go into the final round still in with a chance of claiming a ninth Arnold Palmer Invitational title after he signed for a three-under 69 on Saturday.

Woods, whose last triumph at this event came in 2013, began the weekend seven strokes behind the leading pair of Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau.

Runner-up at the Valspar Championship last week, Woods carded six birdies and three bogeys at Bay Hill, which left him on seven under for the tournament, before Stenson birdied the 12th to move five clear.

The 14-time major champion got off to a disappointing start, bogeying the par-three second, but gains at three of the next four holes soon got him back in the groove.

Woods drained a monster 38-footer on the third, before his short game set up him for another birdie at the next, followed by another excellent putt from 15 feet at six.

His momentum was checked by a dropped shot on eight, but that was soon reclaimed at the 11th thanks to another 15-footer.

Woods consolidated with four straight pars before a stunning bunker shot laid the platform for a birdie at 16. He found the trap at the par-three 17th and was forced to take a bogey, but holed a clutch putt at the last to finish on a high heading into Sunday's final round.

"I hit it a lot better, which was nice," the 42-year-old told Sky Sports. "There were a few mistakes, but overall I felt the round was pretty good.

"I'll probably be five or six back by the end of the day. I need a low one [on Sunday] and a little help from the guys in front of me. To make birdie at 18, I felt like if I got to seven [under] I would be within reach.

"I will be ready, I just hope I'm within reach and hopefully go out and post a low one and see what happens."

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